Attack on RWBY!
by WriterOfWisdom
Summary: A mission to retrieve a stolen artefact goes awry and Team RWBY are dropped into a world where humanity is being driven extinct by giant man-eating monsters known as Titans. While they struggle for their survival in a world where even the strongest can fall, the four huntresses-in-training and their friends begin to learn just how cruel, yet beautiful, the world really is.
1. Chapter 1 – A Whole New World

**Notice: Of course, I do not own either Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin or RWBY.  
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Update: Updating and improving some chapters, and trying to correct some mistakes/typos that I made.  
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 **I'm sorry if the story starts out kind of rough. I'm not really that good at writing fanfics that have a well-flowing storyline. However, I would advise you to at least give this story a chance and read on, though only if you want to. My writing style will get better as the fanfic progresses, but it may not always be as good as some expectations go.**

 **Also: Please do not accuse me of stealing this beginning chapter from Snowflames' _Attack On! RWBY_ fanfic. Yes, I did take a bit of inspiration from their beginning chapter, as I wanted to have some way of Team RWBY coming into the AOT storyline as logically as possible, but I did make this chapter with enough originality for you to differentiate between their story and mine. I'd also like to point out that my story takes place after RWBY Volume 2, while Snowflames' story takes place after Volume 1. And, even for being set just after Volume 1, there were some inaccuracies in their story that... surprised me, to say the least. You can go and read it for yourself if you haven't already.**

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Looking back, maybe it had been foolish to think their troubles in regards to him were over.

After all, they should have expected that Roman Torchwick didn't know when to give up, even when he had been arrested.

No one had predicted his escape from his prison cell; at least, not so soon. General Ironwood hadn't seen this coming at all. Team RWBY, particularly Ruby and Blake, were speechless when they first heard the broadcast yesterday night, but that speechlessness had transformed into a strong desire to recapture Torchwick when more news broke the next morning – a valuable and precious artefact of unknown importance was what he had stolen with the assistance of the White Fang, and when the team heard (Ruby eavesdropped, really) that Professor Ozpin was in an anything but calm state about the artefact, they pestered Professor Goodwitch to let them go out with the hope of reclaiming the object for their headmaster (after the recent Grimm attack in the middle of town, Weiss had suggested asking a professional about these things).

Of course, when it came to Team RWBY following orders, it didn't usually work no matter how hard Weiss tried to keep them in line.

It started with Blake rushing off to the docks. Then Ruby sped off with her, because if there was anything Ruby and Blake shared, it was their encounters with the alliance between the nefarious criminal and the borderline terrorist organisation. Weiss had left a note for Professor Goodwitch and then set off with Yang. It was Weiss' idea, when both girls had caught up to their respective team partners, to form a formation to coincide with their plan of attack.

The shattered moon in the dark sky shone down over Vale, moonlight casting the silhouettes of the four huntresses-in-training over the rooftops near the docks. The swift appearances and disappearances of the girls' shadows caused already wary White Fang members to become almost paranoid of the incoming attack, already knowing who the shadows were likely to belong to. The team were scattered over the rooftops, arranged in their diamond-shape formation. Ruby stayed at the front of the group, leading the team to their destination. Yang and Blake were on either side of her, with Yang at the right, and Blake on the left. Weiss trailed behind at the back of the formation.

Hiding in the shadows was a petite woman named Neopolitan – Neo for short. Despite only standing at 4'10" in the heels she wore, she was skilled, strong, stealthy, and swift in her movements. She always had a wicked smile on her face, no matter what size it was or how far it spread across her face, just like now.

Neo's current task was to incapacitate Weiss, hopefully without alarming the rest of Team RWBY. After she captured Weiss, Neo was to bring her to Torchwick. He needed Weiss to help him activate the artefact he had stolen. The artefact was apparently filled to the brim with Dust, all of it inside some type of technology previously unseen, which only increased its worth. Neo didn't really care too much about that part of the artefact: she just did what was necessary of her in order to help Torchwick and his associates in his plans.

Still! He needed Weiss alive, and Neo wasn't one to disappoint.

As Neo kept herself out of the moonlight, she noted that Weiss was beginning to slow down. She seemed to be reaching a point of exhaustion and needed to take a moment to catch her breath. Neo couldn't help but smirk when Weiss came to a halt on a rooftop, a metre or two away from Neo's hiding place, thus making herself vulnerable.

Neo was going to exploit that vulnerability. Ruthlessly.

When Weiss opened her mouth to call out to the rest of her teammates, Neo stepped out of the shadows and clamped her gloved hand over the heiress' mouth. Then, Neo kicked Weiss' lower legs out from under her, causing the heiress to fall face-first into the concrete roof. Weiss quickly recovered and rolled over, equipping her rapier weapon, named Myrtenaster. In turn, Neo twirled her umbrella around before letting it settle on her shoulder.

Creating a glyph under her feet, Weiss dashed toward Neo, aiming a direct stab at the smaller lady. Neo counteracted by sidestepping the attack with calm and ease, and then kicking her leg up, sending a heavy hit to Weiss' abdomen with just her knee. As weak as Weiss' stance seemed as soon as she hopped back a few feet, her expression didn't hold anything that Neo could throw pity on, and Neo's smirk turned into a wicked smile when she realised how fun it would be to take down a Schnee. And not just any Schnee – the heiress herself!

Weiss pointed her index and middle fingers directly at Neo, summoning a black glyph suspended behind Neo's back. Neo knew she couldn't be preoccupied with the glyph, but she couldn't help but glance at it over her shoulder for a split second. Of course, that split second appeared to be all Weiss needed to launch herself towards Neo and deliver a hard kick to the smaller woman's abdomen with both of her feet. Neo flew backwards a bit, though swiftly recovered in amazing style by performing multiple backflips. Though, she had to halt her acrobatic movements when she realised she was nearing the edge of the rooftop, and skidded to a halt by digging her heels into the concrete of the roof.

An attack strategy slipped into her head when she caught a glimpse of the ground below. She'd be able to use the height of the fall from the roof to her advantage, too, it seemed.

Her blood pumped ecstatically.

Weiss created numerous glyphs around her, there were roughly nine glyphs in total, and she summoned nine swords made of ice that flew in Neo's direction. This was too easy! Neo deflected all nine of the ice swords with her closed umbrella, shattering each ice sword without having to move her feet or change her stance.

The heiress was pitiful, but she put up a better fight than the blonde, Yang, had done on the train.

With a low, agitated growl and her teeth baring, Weiss snapped into a fit of rage and dashed forward recklessly, aiming another direct jab at Neo with the blade of her weapon glowing scarlet. This time, Neo didn't sidestep the blade – or rather, she couldn't, unless she wanted to get burnt. Instead, she narrowly bent backwards to evade the tip of the rapier, ducking under the blade entirely. Weiss crossed her arms defensively over her face, as if anticipating a counterattack. As a response, Neo lifted one of her legs up again, and fast. Her leg (accidentally) hit Weiss' rear. Still, the attack got the job done and Weiss flew over the edge of the rooftop with a sharp intake of air.

Neo stood up straight and pivoted, watching for a second as Weiss' arms flailed and failed to reach the edge of the rooftop. But when Weiss performed a somersault and her feet landed on a glyph, Neo's eyes widened for a split-second and narrowed the next.

Huh.

So, she would need an extra push.

Hopping from the rooftop, Neo's foot landed on Weiss' face and she struck the girl with her umbrella, Weiss' glyph shattering like glass as soon as she fell through it. With a sinister grin, Neo briefly discarded her umbrella to the night's soft wind, and caught Weiss by her jacket with both gloved hands. Neo performed one final twirl and lifted Weiss over her head. She launched the heiress towards the ground with as much strength as she could muster up. As soon as Weiss hit the ground, Neo landed on her, smashing her deep into the ground with her two feet. With one strong backflip to add insult to injury, Neo swiped Weiss up and kicked her out of the small crater she had created upon her impact with the ground. The heiress flew backwards, accompanied by fragments of the pavement.

When Weiss didn't make a move after that, Neo cracked another wicked smile and tilted her head upright. She lifted Weiss up by her ponytail and tossed the heiress over her shoulder, planting her hand on Weiss' back to stabilise her hold on the heiress.

Elsewhere, Ruby, Blake, and Yang all leapt into the dockyard. The dockyard, ever the common home for operations such as this, was home to a Bullhead belonging to Torchwick and the White Fang, and plenty of Dust crates that belonged to the Schnee Dust Company.

Yang had been the first to reach the yard. She took the more direct approach, attacking the White Fang members on the ground by leaping from a rooftop and striking the ground at the centre of what appeared to have been a gathering of Faunus. The strike of Yang's gauntlet on the ground left a crater, the ground being torn up by the blast of flames and embers. Several members of the White Fang were blown away by Yang's sudden attack, and the tremor of the ground afterward.

Blake and Ruby were taking the much quieter approach. Since their outfits were much darker and better able to camouflage into the shadows, it was easy for them to advance as swiftly and stealthily as possible. They were also able to utilize the White Fang's attention on Yang to their advantage and get the drop on them whilst they were preoccupied.

That left Weiss to use her skills to keep the Bullhead on the ground. That being said, when Ruby turned her head to give said orders to her team partner, the heiress was nowhere in sight. Where did Weiss go?

"Blake, I don't see Weiss." Ruby told the older girl, trying to keep her voice low. How could they not have noticed that Weiss had disappeared?

"And here I thought I was the only one who noticed something off." Blake commented in response with a hushed voice, her shoulders slanting as she quietly let out a frustrated sigh. Peeking her head around the corner of the crate she and Ruby were hiding behind, Blake saw a familiar small lady – Torchwick's new henchman, named Neo, if she remembered correctly – strolling towards the Bullhead. An incapacitated Weiss lay slumped over her shoulder. "They've got Weiss. I guess that artefact isn't the only thing we need to get back."

The hatch doors at the rear end of the aircraft opened, revealing Roman Torchwick. He sauntered out of the cargo bay with his cane in hand. Blake let out a growl, and without a second to wait, attacked Torchwick in one sudden motion, dashing towards the man and slashing him with the katana from her multi-form weapon, Gambol Shroud. His Aura was the only thing that prevented him from being sliced open right then and there.

Roman stumbled back a bit from Blake's sudden attack. Neo sprinted into the cargo bay during the chaos, quiet enough to sneak past Blake without the notice of the other girl. Torchwick fired an explosive round at Blake and hurried back into the hatch whilst Blake left a shadow behind and evaded the attack. The Bullhead began to lift off the ground, but not before Ruby dashed past Blake in a crimson blur and fired a round from her sniper-scythe, Crescent Rose, underneath her. She leapt from the ground when the Bullhead lifted itself into the air at the same time. Ruby spun and fired one more round, swinging her scythe at the hatch doors, which were still open. Torchwick was easily visible, as was Neo. Ruby spun and fired another round from Crescent Rose to add momentum to her swing. The blade of her scythe pierced the lower hatch door, steadily settling itself in the metal.

Several members of the White Fang, who were once Blake's brothers in arms, surrounded Blake as they drew their swords and guns. With a deep exhale, Blake let her katana fold over onto the hilt of the blade, forming the ballistic chain scythe (Gambol Shroud was really just a variant ballistic chain scythe). Blake spun on her heel and cast the chain scythe out towards one of the lackeys. The scythe and the ribbon attached to it (acting as the chain) wrapped around the lackey's midriff. With a mighty heave, Blake majestically swung her arm and pulled the lackey off the ground, causing him to collide and crash into the other ones circling her, knocking them into each other like a line of dominoes.

Once they were all on the ground, incapacitated, Blake released her chain-scythe from around the lackey's torso and tossed it towards Ruby. The ribbon and scythe enveloped Ruby's midriff and secured itself there. The sudden pull almost made Ruby lose her grip on the shaft of her scythe, but Ruby just gripped her weapon harder as she dangled dangerously from the hatch.

Blake swung through the air, swerving above the Dust-filled containers that littered the yard while her shadows assisted in propelling her higher. Her sheath grazed the metal on the side of the open door as she smoothly landed with a roll on the lower door. Unfortunately, Blake didn't have any time to act. The bottom of Torchwick's cane flipped up and he fired an explosive round at Blake.

The glowing bullet hit the center of Blake's torso, the impact sending her flying back out of the hatch with an explosion and a bit of smoke. She was thankful she was still holding the ribbon of her weapon. Blake quickly recovered and situated herself underneath Ruby, her Gambol Shroud still encased around her leader's midriff.

"YANG!" Blake and Ruby shouted as loud as they could over the dockyard.

Yang dropped an unconscious White Fang member on the ground when she heard Ruby and Blake's call for her. She spun in place and leapt on top of a crate, and then she hopped up two more. She jumped into the air, firing rounds from Ember Celica to generate momentum whilst she propelled herself towards the Bullhead.

"Give Weiss back!" Ruby yelled at Neo and Roman.

"You mean this?" Roman asked, mocking Ruby with that cool voice of his. Neo pulled Weiss over her shoulder and dropped the heiress at her feet. Grabbing a piece of metal on the top of her umbrella, Neo pulled out a thin blade, which had been hidden inside the staff of the umbrella. But, as fascinated as Ruby was, she couldn't help but glare and bare her teeth when Neo grabbed Weiss by her hair and held the blade against Weiss' throat.

That changed when Yang's golden hair, alit with enraged flames, entered her field of vision. Yang fired a number of explosive rounds at the right wing of the Bullhead. The aircraft rocked upon impact, and Torchwick was close to losing his footing. He managed to regain his balance just as Yang dived towards the right wing, her hair creating a trail of fire behind her. Ruby and Blake could only watch as the right wing then exploded with a bright flash of yellow, orange, and red, and sent the Bullhead into a wild, violent fit.

When the aircraft shook for longer than five seconds, Ruby pulled on her scythe more than she probably should have and Crescent Rose lost its sturdy grip on the hatch door, the blade slicing and slipping through the metal. Ruby and Blake were left plummeting from the Bullhead to the shipping containers below.

Blake was the first to recover. The ribbon from her Gambol Shroud unwrapped itself from Ruby's waist just in time for Blake to spin gracefully and cast the scythe at the upper hatch door. The blade lodged itself into the metal instantly, giving Blake the chance to catch Ruby and leap from their shadow.

As soon as Blake and Ruby landed steadily on the lower hatch doors, they were both blown back again by a surprise attack from Torchwick, and despite the smoke and the explosion, both girls dug their heels into the metal and stuck themselves there in defiance. Blake's Gambol Shroud was pulled off the upper hatch door and Blake gripped the hilt in her hand to the point where her knuckles were white. They were now on the edge of the lower hatch doors, where it would mean defeat and possibly death if they were to fall, especially into the Dust crates. Sparing a cautious glance over their shoulders, both girls hoped Yang wasn't reckless enough to crash the aircraft into the shipping containers below.

Their hope didn't hold ground, as it turned out.

The Bullhead shook again, the fits and shakes growing more violent with each one, and Blake's feet slipped out from under her, tripping over her own feet when she lost her balance. Her hair obscured her face and, therefore, her sight too. Ruby caught her hand, though she'd had to close Crescent Rose and clip it onto her belt in order to catch Blake. Ruby narrowly avoided falling from the aircraft, the top half of Ruby's body hanging off the edge of the lower hatch door.

"I can't believe the stupidity I'm seeing." Torchwick remarked as he approached Ruby, cane aimed directly at her. "A word of advice, Red. Don't put your weapon away just to save someone who could've saved themselves. Otherwise," the crosshair cover flipped open, "you'll learn to regret it."

Torchwick fired a single merciless shot at Ruby, sending her flying off and away from the Bullhead in a brilliant flash of smoke, fire, and rose petals.

With nothing keeping her close to the Bullhead anymore, Blake did the only thing she could think to do: she caught Ruby on her shoulder and launched her Gambol Shroud at the Bullhead's undercarriage. The blade lodged into the metal, securing Blake and Ruby's place and halting their descent.

The Bullhead turned to one side, and for a moment, both Ruby and Blake feared that Yang was going to kill them all in her fit of rage. Yang had destroyed one of the engines. Only one, though, but it was enough to send the aircraft into a frenzy much worse than anything that had come before it.

As a result of the aircraft's frenzy, Neo's hold on Weiss slipped along with her balance, and both Neo and Torchwick fell to the floor. Weiss' body hit the floor of the cargo bay as well, but due to the tilt, the unconscious heiress slid and tumbled out of the aircraft, accompanied by the artefact that had been stolen.

"Kids these days. They're either weird or they're crazy." Torchwick commented after fumbling around for his cane. His legs wobbled slightly when he managed to stabilise his stance, fixing his top hat in the process. "Now I'm glad this hunk of metal is as durable as it is. With a loose cannon like that out there, this whole place could've been turned to ash if it fell out of the sky." he pointed out, yet the smug look on his face didn't last long. His eyes then widened in horror upon seeing the artefact fall from the aircraft's doors. "No! No, no, no, no, no, NO!"

Torchwick almost dived out of the aircraft when he tried to catch the artefact, but Neo wouldn't let him. She swiftly stuffed her blade back into her umbrella and pulled him back from the edge, holding his arm with both of hers.

The artefact that fell out of the hatch was a small cube with white veins that stored powdered Dust to the brim, all combined together inside of it. On each face of the cube was a small circular crystal, all in different colours. They were Dust crystals, no doubt. The cube itself – not counting the Dust veins or the crystals – was black, and it was most likely made of some type of technology that none of the conscious members of Team RWBY recognised.

"Neo! Get it back!" Torchwick cried desperately, though Ruby could tell the tone sounded... fake?

At his command, Neo immediately left Torchwick's side and hopped out of the Bullhead, opening her umbrella to slow her descent. However, Neo was caught off-guard by Yang appearing in the corner of her eye. Neo had no choice but to utilise her Illusion Semblance, causing the image of herself to shatter as soon as Yang swung her fist at her face.

Yang didn't mind; in fact, she kind of expected that, after last time. When Neo had disappeared, Yang caught Weiss in her arms, hugging the heiress close to her chest as if to comfort her. However, catching Weiss had knocked Yang back a bit. But as soon as Yang started falling, Blake immediately came to the rescue with her Gambol Shroud, hoisting Yang up at the cost of her and Ruby's support on the underside of the Bullhead.

Blake, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss all crashed into one another in the air. Yet, they were joined by one more unintended guest: the artefact.

The artefact landed on Weiss' abdomen.

The impact of the artefact coming into contact with Weiss appeared to cause it to malfunction, if one were to guess. It started to emit multiple colours which shone over the yard, a lot like lights at a disco or nightclub.

But this wasn't a disco or a nightclub.

Neither Ruby, Blake, or Yang could describe what exactly was happening, even more so when a white veil suddenly enveloped the artefact and within the blink of an eye, it suddenly emitted a bright light that all of Team RWBY were caught in the middle of.

* * *

 **Eren Jaeger  
**

* * *

"What?! The hell you mean you're joining the Scouts?!"

It was a beautiful last day of training for the 104th Trainee Squad, and the sunny weather and clear skies was always a treat for anyone who was on duty on top of the walls. Everyone that was stood on the wall had been tasked with cannon maintenance, but not many of the trainees were doing much of it, opting to partake in conversations with one another instead.

Currently, Eren had paused his routine cleaning of the cannon he was stood at. The sudden confession of his friend had shocked him and he stared at the shorter boy beside him with widened eyes.

"What happened to the MP? That was your whole thing!" Eren inquired, walking out from behind the cannon he was working at. He'd get back to his task later, he supposed, but for now he'd lost all interest in the cannon and needed something to sate his boredom.

As it stood, only the top ten graduates from each training squad could join the Military Police. Connie had come 8th in the top ten. Eren himself had come 5th. On the first day of training, three years ago, Connie was one of the many trainees who'd shamelessly admitted that he wanted to join the MPs and live within the safety of the remaining two walls, Wall Rose and Wall Sina. Particularly Wall Sina.

"Don't worry about it. A guy's allowed to change his mind, okay?" Connie said, turning his face even further away from Eren.

"I think your speech yesterday lit a fire under him," a recruit by the name of Mina Carolina approached the two.

"Ain't nobody talking to you! His temper tantrum had nothing to do with it!" Connie retorted, his head swivelling to face Mina with a light blush covering his cheeks. Eren didn't see that every day.

"Take it easy," Thomas Wagner, another recruit, called out to them as he arrived on the scene, "it's not like you're the only one." he mused with a slight chuckle. Thomas scratched his cheek with his index finger, a spot of pink dusting his cheeks.

"What? Are you serious?" Eren asked, unable to comprehend why they would have listened to him. After all, he had earned the nickname Suicidal Bastard for good reason (or Suicidal Blockhead, depending on how vulgar one wanted to be about Eren's 'death wish').

Eren didn't get a response from the others, as the moment was interrupted by Sasha's arrival.

"Guys, can you keep a secret?"

By now, everyone else had also paused their work. They all turned and stared at Sasha expectantly. A bit of saliva hung at the corner of her lips, and she hid something under her jacket. She was panting heavily and her cheeks were a dark shade of pink, a sign that she had been exerting herself without her ODM Gear. Either that, or she was still on a bit of a high from retrieving whatever she was holding under her jacket.

"Cause I totally just helped myself to the officer's pantry." she informed everyone, unveiling a bundle of meat wrapped with strings from the inside of her jacket.

The jaws of all of the trainees dropped, and a few horrified gasps were audible.

Meat was a rare delicacy inside the walls, and only the privileged and the rich would have access to it. However, meat wasn't something that even those people would see regularly on their plates. The recruits sometimes did get to eat meat, but that was only during special occasions, such as festivals, or when they had enough free time to go hunting for animals. But if someone found out that Sasha had stolen the meat from the supplies, then not only would she be in trouble, but everyone else with her would suffer similar punishments as well.

"Sasha! They could throw your butt in the clink for that!" Eren was the first to scold her. As much as the girl had guts, she had proven herself time and time again to be quite reckless and horrifyingly daring when it came to food.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Thomas asked, looking rather deflated.

"What isn't wrong with her?" Connie stood up, having previously been kneeling next to the cannon he had been working at. Connie looked at Sasha with a face full of exasperation, as tired as everyone else was by the girl's antics.

"It'll be fine. I'm willing to share." Sasha stated, and Eren swore a shiver travelled along her body. "Oh... can you imagine the sandwiches?" She giggled in euphoria.

"Put it back!" Connie demanded, edging a foot forward slightly.

"Yeah! Do you have any idea how rare meat's been since the Titans took Wall Maria?" Mina inquired, though she sounded more like she was just shouting rather than asking a question.

Now, as much as meat was a delicacy, there wasn't much of it to go around – especially after the Colossal Titan first appeared five years ago outside the Shiganshina District, Eren's former home. After the gate that led inside Wall Maria was shattered to little more than rubble by the Armoured Titan, the whole wall had been left behind, as was everything and everyone that couldn't be saved. That meant farms and cattle were lost. That being said, there also weren't many farms inside Wall Rose, and even less inside Wall Sina, due to the lessening amount of space between each wall. The lack of space meant less farmland and areas for animals and crops, thus making meat borderline rare.

"Um, little bit, yeah." Sasha nodded her head. She walked over to the wooden crate that sat in-between two of the cannons; an ammunition crate, to be exact. Crouching down, Sasha opened the lid, and laid the bundle of fresh meat inside it. "Just look at it this way: pretty soon, we'll take back all the room we need for livestock."

There was a moment of silence as Sasha closed the lid, but just as she did so, the air picked up around them and a white light flickered above them. As all of the recruits looked up, the flickering light had become a translucent white sphere, if Eren were to guess. The sphere seemed to flash with small bolts of electricity and a few silver embers could be seen here and there.

"Huh?" Eren asked, arching a brow as his upper lip twitched and his eyes narrowed. _'What is that?'_

Mumbles escaped the mouths of the recruits around him, but he had already drowned out what they were saying in favour of seeing what would come out of this – whatever this was. Eren hesitantly reached out a hand to the translucent sphere and to his surprise, his hand disappeared into the light. His hand was grabbed by what felt like another, smaller, more feminine hand and in a reflexive manoeuvre, he yanked his hand out of the sphere, with four feminine figures suddenly dropping out of the light afterward, each landing on a recruit.

One of them, who was still holding his hand, landed on top of Eren, causing him to fall backwards on the ground, almost winding himself as his shoulder blades hit the concrete. She wasn't too heavy, but she wasn't quite as light as her diminutive frame would've had him believe. Eren was left unable to move much either way, restricted to the ground by the girl being on top of him. The girl shuffled around for a second, her hips and somewhat wide skirt lightly hitting his ODM Gear, as she muttered a somewhat high-pitched "Ow!".

"Can you get up... please?" Eren asked, a little more demanding than he wanted to sound (Armin had been telling him he was too... tense, for lack of a better word. Essentially, he was quite far from being a social butterfly, and tended to cause arguments and, in some cases, fights). She froze at the sound of his tone of voice, and slowly lifted herself up. She planted her palms on his chest to prop herself up. After sucking in a breath, the girl moved off Eren and knelt in front of him. Then she raised her head to make eye contact with him.

The girl had short black hair with faint red streaks in it, but as a sort of contrast, she had a pale white complexion with a pair of silver eyes that reminded him of Captain Levi, Humanity's Strongest Soldier, who had a similar eye colour as far as Eren had seen of the man. She wore a black turtleneck blouse with a red ruffle collar protruding from under it. Wrapped around her midriff was what appeared to be a black corset, which had red lacing crossed down her abdomen. The sleeves of the blouse were long and had red frills at the end of them, surrounding her wrists, and Eren wasn't sure if he'd caught a glimpse of skin-tight black sleeves underneath or not. Fastened around her hips was a dark grey belt that carried a satchel and a silver emblem that looked like a rose. Her skirt, which reached at least three-quarters down her thighs, was black with crimson trimmings that seemed to give the appearance of rose petals. Concealing her legs were black tights tinted with red. She also wore black boots with red laces on the front of them, which reached just short of her knees. The rim of the boots was adorned with a red fabric, and the bottom of her boots were coated in red as well. A hooded crimson cloak (or was it a cape? Was there a difference?) was attached to her dress, held in place around her shoulders by two small silver crosses.

However, her outfit wasn't what attracted most of his attention. To the side of them, a large red metal object laid on the ground. The frame of it was red with black trimmings. To add, there was a circle that had the same rose crest embroidered on it, though the embroidered rose crest was black and the circle was red, like the main paint of the frame.

Without saying so much as a word to Eren, she picked up the object and gently placed it onto the back of her belt, under her cape. "Sorry about that. I didn't hurt you, did I?" she then asked Eren, braving a smile that just screamed nervousness. Her voice was more high-pitched than he had expected it to be.

After the girl rose to her feet, she held out her hand for Eren, offering to help him up with the same nervous smile. His eyes trailed from her face, to her hand, to her face again, and then back to her hand before he eventually took her hand without question. "Uh, no, not really." Eren answered once he was pulled to his feet, finding the girl to be a few inches shorter than him – around 5'2", he guessed.

The girl's head swivelled as she let go of Eren's hand. Her face contorted and scrunched up into some sort of mixture between confusion and intrigue and her eyebrows furrowed whilst she pursed her lips. She turned her body to face the Trost District and cupped her chin between her finger and thumb, muttering something about how she didn't think _"this place"_ was a part of _"the history of Remnant's architectural structures"_ , and that they _"aren't in Remnant anymore"_.

At least, that was what Eren could gather before his patience started wearing thin and he gently pushed the girl to the side a bit, walking in front of where she stood. Eren found that Connie, Thomas, and Mina all had a girl land on top of them, too.

The girl that landed on top of Mina was unconscious, as if she'd been incapacitated before she and the other girls landed here. She seemed to have a very elegant style of clothing, though. Her hair was white and abnormally long, even reaching past her hips, and it was tied into a pony tail at the side. Her ponytail was held in by a piece of silver that separated into jagged edges, almost looking like a thin, small, light grey crown. Her skin was a matching pale – just like the girl with silver eyes – and she had a scar over her left eye, which captured Eren's attention the most. She wore a white strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline and a tint of blue gathered around the frilled end of the skirt, and Eren could see the white frills of an underskirt under the dress. Around the top half of the dress was an azure bolero jacket left open down the front with an emblem of some form of snowflake on the back of it embroidered in white and a red coating on the inside of the jacket, with the sleeves loosening past the elbows. Around her hips was a silver ribbon, which carried a silver leather satchel on the back of it. The girl also wore a pair of slim, silver boots with sharp high heels and red also coating the inside of them. And carried on the ribbon on her hip was a rather fancy rapier, with a bulgy crossguard that came in the form of a revolver chamber with several different colours in it. Some sort of trigger had been added beside the crossguard, too.

The girl that had landed on top of Connie was just waking up from her landing. Her theme of clothing, if Eren had to guess, was black and white, with a bit of purple to mix. Her hair was black and wavy, and it travelled down her back, ending at her hips or at least a bit above. On top of her head was a black bow. When she opened her cat-like eyes, a set of golden irises were revealed, and Eren could see faint lilac eyeshadow decorating the upper corners of her eyes. Around her neck was a thin black scarf, probably of the infinity type, from what he could see. She also wore what looked like a skin-tight white vest underneath a black, cut-down, sleeveless tuxedo. The tuxedo had twin tails that trailed down the backs of her legs. On her bottom half she wore white shorts, and black stockings covered her legs. The stockings were tinted violet from the middle of her lower legs to the top of her shoes. On the side of one of her legs, there was an imprint of what seemed to be a belladonna flower located below where her shorts ended. On her feet were low-heeled black shoes. Black ribbons wrapped around both of her lower arms and wrists. A silver band on her left arm held in place a black detached sleeve. A somewhat small white backpack was partially hidden underneath her hair. In one of her clenched fists was a black ribbon.

The last girl, who had landed on Thomas, was recovering from the fall as well. She had a head of lengthy golden blonde hair that did more to conceal her rather stunning figure than her clothes did. Her lilac irises were strange to Eren – it was the first time that he had seen someone with that eye colour. Around her neck was an orange infinity scarf. She wore a low-cut yellow crop top with a black crest which resembled a burning heart over one breast, but the top and crest were partly hidden by a brown jacket with short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs on the end of them. Around her abdomen was the rest of the black ribbon that the black-haired girl was holding. On her hips was a brown belt that carried a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner that hung from the belt, all of which were also brown. Under the belt, she wore a pair of short black shorts, and a brown pleated skirt around the back. Attached to the pleated skirt was a white asymmetrical back skirt. On her feet were a pair of brown, knee-high platform boots. She didn't seem to have any weapons that she carried, until Eren noticed a pair of gauntlets covering her wrists and lower arms, which quickly transformed into two golden bracelets and revealed that on her hands, she was wearing black fingerless gloves.

"Weiss!" the silver-eyed girl softly shouted as she moved to jog towards the incapacitated girl that Mina was holding.

The unconscious girl, now revealed to be called Weiss, was slowly starting to wake up. Her eyes opened to narrow slits, revealing a set of striking blue eyes that reminded Eren of his first friend, Armin Arlert. Weiss groaned and she held her forehead, shaking her head and baring her teeth, her mouth set in a slight scowl. Then her eyes widened, possibly with some realisation or another, and her upper body shot upright: " **NEO!** "

"Wait!" Eren reached out and grabbed the silver-eyed girl's arm. She stopped in her tracks and turned her head, looking at him with widened eyes over her shoulder. Eren realised a second later that he was still holding her arm, but didn't let go. "Who are you?" Eren inquired, sounding more than a little demanding, even though he tried to keep his tone gentle (to avoid scaring the girl).

Honestly, if the strange clothing and bizarre weapons were any indication, the four girls were not from this world. There was no-one who wore such outlandish clothing, and given that the remainder of humanity were cooped away behind Wall Rose and Wall Sina, the thought that they had been from some part of the world outside the walls was quickly dismissed. After all, the entire world – _or so they say_ – is populated with Titans. That seemed like enough proof to debunk any sort of idea that they originated from across the oceans far outside the abandoned Wall Maria.

Yet, what exactly had caused the appearance of that white light?

And why are these girls here?

She stood there for a second, unmoving, before she blinked once, twice, several times, and her mouth dropped open upon realisation. "O-Oh! My name's Ruby. Ruby Rose." the silver-eyed girl, now known as Ruby, answered, pivoting to face him fully. "You can just call me Red, or Crater Face—" Ruby paused and scratched the back of her head. "Actually, just call me Ruby." She lowered her head and her voice became quieter.

"Okay..." Eren trailed off, averting his eyes. To hell with it, he may as well give her the nicknames he's received as well. "Well, my name's Eren Jaeger. Some people call me Suicidal Blockhead, or Suicidal Bastard." Eren divulged, shrugging his shoulders, like it mattered what people thought of him.

"Ah..." Ruby's lips curled into an insecure smile as she breathed a sigh of relief and nodded her head. "Nice to meet you." Ruby nodded and then threw a glance over her shoulders at the blonde woman and the girl with black hair. In the blink of an eye she had disappeared in a crimson blur, leaving behind red rose petals that Eren had to wave his hands in order to get rid of. When Eren saw Ruby again, the girl was crouched beside her friend Weiss and lifted her off of Mina.

Weiss' head turned and she looked up at Ruby. Ruby helped Weiss sit up further and moved an arm behind Weiss' back to keep her upright. "Ruby...? Where are we?" If Ruby had registered the question, she didn't show any signs. Instead, she simply smiled and tilted her head, rubbing Weiss' shoulder. Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "I remember getting knocked out by Torchwick's henchman, and then..."

"You're safe now, Weiss," Ruby cooed, but her smile faltered after only two seconds. "Hopefully?" she asked, her nervous smile returning as she turned back to Eren over her shoulder. "Hey, Eren, can you tell us where we are?"

Weiss' eyes met his, and Eren's shoulders hunched. Those eyes pierced through him and left him frozen in place. He averted his eyes, looking anywhere but at Weiss, and instead his gaze landed on Ruby. When she smiled at him, slightly more secure than before, a word slipped into his head and it seemed to fit the girl perfectly.

 _Purity._ It was strange, he'd only just met the girl, but already he could see that Ruby seemed to be the embodiment of purity. Looking at her alone, she didn't seem to want to cause him any harm, despite the fact that she was an _outsider_ , and thus an otherworldly stranger. But he trusted his judgement of character. He made his way over to them and held out his hand towards Ruby. "Well, you don't seem threatening towards me. But can you tell me where you're from first?"

"My team and I are from a world called Remnant. Specifically, we _were_ in a part of it, called Vale." Ruby explained, her eyes darting between Eren's hand and his eyes. Her hand that had been sat on Weiss' shoulder moved into Eren's open hand, and he carefully pulled them up from the ground. When they stood up, Ruby had to support Weiss due to her legs still shaking slightly. "Until now, that is."

"So, Eren, is it?" Weiss asked, her tone rather curt. Blunt, even. Eren blinked a few times, nodded his head. He turned his head to make eye contact with Mina when she stood up and moved beside him.

"If you want to know, my name's Mina Carolina." Mina gladly introduced herself with a slight wave of her hand and a polite smile. "I'm the girl you landed on." she said when Weiss tilted her head at her.

"Ah. Sorry about that." Weiss averted her eyes for a second, but eventually smiled at Mina. "Well, I'm Weiss Schnee."

"Ow..." the black-haired girl groaned as she shook her head, placing a hand on her forehead. Only registering the shock after easing what Eren guessed was a headache, it took her almost no time to realise the position she was in. Connie's ODM Gear softly smacked against her hips, and her hands were planted either side of his head. Her own chin had been laid on his shoulder. He tapped her shoulders repeatedly with the palms of his hands, muttering incoherently. She rose to her feet quickly with her eyes widened, and she stumbled back a few steps. "Oh, uh—sorry! I hope I didn't hurt you!" she exclaimed, holding out a hand to Connie with an apologetic look on her face.

"N-No, no—it's—it's okay!" Connie stuttered helplessly, the bright red luminescence of his face only serving to embarrass him further. He shakily took her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet.

"Blake!" The blonde woman waved her hand up in the air. Her voice was strained, as if she was holding her breath or unable to breathe. "Can you let go of me? Your ribbon's kinda making it hard to breathe here."

"Oh! Sorry, Yang." responded the girl, apparently called Blake. She pulled the ribbon and it unwrapped from around the blonde's midriff, and something that looked like a weapon landed in Blake's hand. To Eren, the weapon appeared to be a gun of some kind, with a blade on the top of it, the blade almost giving the weapon the look of a small scythe. However, the blade folded open and up to form a thin sword that was black in colour, with the gun being the hilt. Blake then proceeded to put the sword inside what Eren assumed was a sheath. What surprised him more was the fact that the thinner sword being inside the sheath formed a bigger sword, which Blake then planted on her back. She turned back to Connie, who immediately tensed up under her gaze. Blake gave a warm, barely-there smile. "By the way, what's your name? Mine's Blake; Blake Belladonna." She held out her hand for him to shake.

"Uh—C-Connie! My name's Connie Springer!" Connie immediately bowed in front of Blake, taking the girl off-guard with the action. Sasha, whom Eren had forgotten was still there, chuckled at the sight.

"Well, uh, it's nice to meet you, Connie." Blake retracted her hand, but she didn't seem to mind being left hanging with that failed attempt at a handshake. Blake's eyes wandered away from Connie and Eren's gaze met hers briefly, before she shared glances with Ruby and Weiss. Her smile got slightly bigger and she raised her hand to wave at them. Only Ruby returned it.

Connie regained his posture and stood up straight again, like Eren had seen him do when in the presence of the head instructor of the 104th Cadet Corps, Keith Shadis. "M-Miss Belladonna, if I-I may say so, you are—" his voice cracked—"are one of the cutest girls I've ever seen."

Blake's blinked and she looked at Connie again, and her small smile had transformed into an uneasy twitch of the corner of her lips. "That's... that's lovely of you to say. Really. But please, just call me Blake. No need to be so formal." Blake awkwardly smiled. Her gaze then turned to Sasha, who had moved just behind Connie, unable to contain her giggling after Connie's voice crack. "I didn't see you there. I've already introduced myself to Connie, but you are...?" She tilted her head.

"Oh! Sasha! I'm Sasha Braus. It's a, uh, pleasure to meet you!" Sasha nearly shouted, straightening her posture like Connie had done.

"Please, relax. There's need to stand so straight and tensed up like that. We're not people of authority." Blake waved her hands reassuringly, her eyebrows slanting. "Anyway, if we're introducing ourselves, over there is my team partner, Yang Xiao Long."

The blonde woman with the lilac eyes, now identified as Yang, managed to crawl off of Thomas. She planted one hand on her knee, with her other knee on the ground. "Hey, sorry if I almost crushed you when I landed." she said with a smile that Eren could've sworn almost shined, as if it was a blessing itself.

Thomas seemed to notice too, and he was quick to put his hands up and wave them, shaking his head. Though, despite the woman's blessed figure (that Eren didn't doubt had been described as 'just right' by some creep or another), Thomas had better luck at controlling how flustered he got. "No, no, no! I can assure you, I'm absolutely fine."

"Oh. That's good, then!" Yang pushed herself up and rose to both feet, holding out her hand for Thomas. He gladly took her hand and she pulled him off the ground. "So, what's your name?"

Thomas let go of Yang's hand and rubbed the back of his neck, placing his other hand on his hip. "My name's Thomas. Thomas Wagner. And from what Blake said, you're Yang?"

"Yep!" Yang fidgeted happily before pointing over her shoulder, her thumb aimed at Ruby. "And the girl in the red hood is my little sister, Ruby. Weiss over there is my teammate." Yang's head swivelled and she and Eren shared a brief moment of eye contact, prompting Eren to give her a polite smile and look back down at Ruby.

"By the way, you said you would tell us where we are, didn't you?" Ruby tilted her head, a polite smile on her face.

"Oh, uh... right." Eren's shoulders hunched as he nodded again. It wasn't every day Eren got so much attention from females that weren't Mikasa or Annie. Not to mention, Weiss seemed to be a fairly intimidating lady. He was admittedly glad when Mina led Weiss away, likely to do a better job of explaining things better than Eren could. Surprisingly, it seemed Eren and the others gained some perspective when it came to explaining where they were. "This is the top of Wall Rose. This wall is designed to keep the monsters we know as Titans out, and to keep humanity safe behind it."

"Okay," Ruby muttered, but blinked and furrowed her brows, cocking her head to the side. "Titans?" Ruby arched a brow. "Are those the monsters you face?"

"Yeah—well, sort of." Eren nodded. He led Ruby over to the outer edge of the wall, peering down at some of the smaller Titans scratching at the walls. "See down there? Those are what some of us train to fight."

"They look really small for what you said were Titans." Ruby commented, holding onto Eren's arm. She seemed to be edging closer to him. "This high view is kinda scary, and I've had to sprint up the edge of a cliff before."

"The Titans vary in sizes. They may look small, but once you see them up close, you'll find that they're several times bigger than you and I and even the tallest of people you and I have ever met." Eren informed her with his forehead creased. But one look at Ruby and the creases disappeared and he gave her a sweet, barely-there smile when he held onto her and gently pulled her a step away from the edge. "They can even reach up to fifteen metres tall, but you'd never guess that from standing all the way up here. Well, at least some of the normal Titans can reach fifteen metres."

"Fifteen metres? That's bigger than most Grimm I've ever heard of or had to fight." Ruby remarked, cupping her chin between her finger and her thumb again. "But they could compare to the size of a Nevermore, though. And maybe those older and smarter ones that look like elephants or mammoths." Ruby mumbled to herself, looking down.

"Do you talk to yourself a lot?" Eren couldn't help but ask with an amused grin.

"Sometimes. I often don't know I'm doing it." Ruby looked up at him and smiled, rubbing the back of her head.

"What are Grimm, if you don't mind me asking?" Eren's grin faded and he turned towards the girl, his hands on his hips.

"Huh? Oh!" Ruby lowered her hand and her lips pressed into a straight line. "The creatures of Grimm are what we fight on our world, hence why we have weapons and are able to fight. They're essentially creatures born from darkness, and they don't have souls, unlike us. Some of us, like my team and I, train to kill Grimm and protect the other people of Remnant from them." Ruby puffed her chest, as if she felt proud. Eren knew from her reaction that his face made him look doubtful. She sighed and the proudness subsided, replaced with exasperation. "You can ask them if you don't believe me. You really think I'd be able to come up with something as real and dangerous as the Grimm on my own? The only way I even remember that is because it's common sense for huntsmen and huntresses to know these things."

"You know what, I'll just take your word for it."

"Thank you." A sigh of relief escaped Ruby's lips. She folded her arms over her chest. "Anyway, didn't you say that this wall protects the land from the Titans? Shouldn't you be safe?" She turned to Eren, and poked her index finger on one of the blade boxes on the outside of his legs. "What's with the gear? Looks a bit... constricting, I guess? It looks like there's too much you have to carry. What would you need all of it for?"

Truthfully, Eren was considering that it would be better to get to know the girls. They didn't seem to be at all threatening towards the recruits, despite how outlandish they were and the fact that they were fighters and probably could have overpowered them in a second. In fact, their behaviour was very much the opposite of what one would expect outsiders to be like. Besides, Eren was willing to take Ruby's word that they were fighters, and that they had training and experience on the battleground, likely much more than any of the recruits had. They could be able to prove themselves useful by helping the soldiers fight against the Titans next time they attacked.

"'Safe' would be a rather relative term, in all honesty." Thomas piped up as he approached Eren and Ruby, Yang following behind him with Blake jogging along behind her. "Behind these walls live the remainder of humanity. They've been standing for over a hundred years, since the first ever sightings of the Titans around that same time. But things changed five years ago."

"Really? What happened?" Blake asked, stopping at Eren's other side. She must've noticed Eren's brows furrow and the scowl on his face, as she folded her arms under her bosom and asked, "Do we even want to know?"

"If you're here with nothing to get you back to your world, Remnant, then you may as well be aware of the most significant events in our history." Eren told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fair point." Blake shrugged her shoulders.

"Another wall far out from here, named Wall Maria, was left behind after two specifically abnormal Titans first appeared. We've come to know those Titans as the Colossal and Armoured Titans." Thomas explained to them, his expression turning slightly grim, though he tried to cover it up with a reassuring half-smile. "After Wall Maria was abandoned, Wall Rose and Wall Sina were the only two walls left that still stood between humanity and total annihilation. These two walls are all we have left that keep humanity safe and protected, hence why it's relative. Still, though. Before Wall Maria fell, the peace we felt was uneasy peace, but we had felt safe, most of us blissfully ignorant of the paranoia that the walls wouldn't hold forever. Since then I'm fairly certain most of us live everyday with the same paranoid fear that the Colossal Titan could show up again and cause the same chaos and destruction for a second time."

It appeared that Thomas thought the same as Eren: getting to know and learn about the four girls could prove beneficial for the cadets, perhaps even the rest of the soldiers. Eren even wondered if the soldiers – particularly the Scouts – could learn a few things battle-wise from these girls. If they could indeed fight, like Ruby had divulged with the self-awareness to know it sounded crazy, then whatever knowledge they had would surely help the soldiers to counterattack the Titans; maybe even wipe the giant monstrosities out altogether! However, keeping them around for that to happen would be anything but simple. They would certainly have their fair share of trouble if the girls were to be put in the spotlight. The Wall Cult would even have a few things to say about it, if they didn't think that three of the four were incarnations of the so-called 'goddesses' that made the walls. Not to mention the Military Police would likely do anything including torture in order to gain the information the girls had.

Ruby mumbled something that Eren wasn't exactly able to hear, but from what he heard, it sounded as if she'd asked about the land outside the walls. She stepped towards the edge and peered down again, eyeing the Titans below. Her eyes widened and she stumbled back a couple of steps, letting out a gasp. Ruby would have fallen backwards had it not been for Eren, the boy catching and stabilising the smaller girl's frame.

"Be careful, you could fall." Eren warned her, surprising himself with how motherly he sounded.

"Sorry," Ruby smiled shyly with a slightly pained expression.

Thomas moved closer to Eren, planting a hand on the brunet's shoulder before his gaze move to Ruby. "In case Eren hasn't told you yet, these walls are fifty metres tall, even taller than the tallest of normal Titans. Everyone that comes up here has to be careful with their footing. The only Titan taller than these walls is the Colossal Titan, which is sixty metres tall, at least according to reports."

"So, what about the land inside the walls? Can you tell us about, say, that village down there?" Yang motioned with her thumb pointing over her shoulder at the Trost District, located on the other side of Wall Rose, the inner edge.

Eren's ODM Gear trembled as he spun around and walked past the group, over to the inner edge of Wall Rose. He waved his hand, beckoning the three girls and Thomas to follow. Eren turned to Yang when she stopped beside him at the inner edge: "This place is what we call the Trost District. There are a number of districts like this one that are located along the outside borders of Wall Rose and Wall Sina."

"So this is the Trost District..." Ruby rushed over to Yang and gazed at the landscape, gushing. Her silver eyes widened and sparkled with a mix of wonder, awe, and curiosity. Eren saw all of it in her eyes and the rise of her eyebrows; she was as easy to read as Armin, it seemed. "If a district is this huge, then how big is the rest of the land?" she asked, immediately turning towards Eren. From her face alone, Eren assumed she was trying to calm herself down.

"The size of the districts doesn't even compare to the land behind the inner gate." Eren answered, moving his hands to his hips as a strong sense of pride washed over him. "But we'll have more land to call home in the future. Soon, humanity's counterattack will begin, and we'll drive those Titans back to hell and reclaim the land they stole from us." he declared, watching as Ruby's smile faded and she tilted her head at his enthusiasm for revenge. Eren pursed his lips and looked at the girl through half-lidded eyes. "What?"

"It just... doesn't sound realistic, if these Titans are as big as you say they are and your only hope of defending yourself in battle is that gear you're carrying." Ruby waved her hand and shook her head. "Over one hundred years behind walls and yet with all these old-timey cannons, the only thing that actually looks impressive is that? You could've built more compact gear so you don't have to carry as much, too."

"Would you shut up with your rambling?!" Weiss suddenly appeared behind Ruby and smacked the smaller girl upside the head. Ruby sharply inhaled and doubled over, holding the back of her head. Mina approached the group, standing beside Weiss with a nervous smile and her arms clasped together behind her back.

"Still, it's nice to see that you're ambitious," Yang commented with an uneasy smile.

"Yang's right. I also think it's good of you to aspire to help humanity regain everything it's lost." Blake agreed with a nod of her head. Her bow twitched and she turned her head, narrowing her eyes at nothing.

"I wasn't saying that. I just like his determination. Really strikes me as the feisty type..." Yang trailed off as she folded her arms under her bosom, her lilac eyes following Blake's head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm... I'm not sure." Blake hand clasped around the hilt of the sword on her back, gripping it tightly enough for her knuckles to turn white. Eren and the others couldn't help but watch, but Ruby was quick to grab the metal that laid on the back of her belt and unclip it, holding it in both hands. Blake pulled her sword off her back and unsheathed it, holding the sheath in one hand and her smaller sword in her other hand. "Call me crazy, but I can just... feel something coming."

"Well, you _were_ just fighting Torchwick and the White Fang before we ended up here." Weiss fidgeted, one of her hands coming to rest on the handle of her rapier weapon.

"It's not that." Blake said as she wandered toward the outer edge of the wall. She leant over the edge and peered down. "It's... different."

Suddenly, a bright flash of familiar yellow lightning struck in front of the wall, a few inches short of where Blake was standing. The girl was cruelly thrown to the ground with a gasping shriek, her back landing on the concrete, due to both the sudden impact and shock. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all gasped and were about to step forward and help Blake, but only got one foot forward before they stopped dead in their tracks.

In mere seconds, the large skinless head of the largely feared Colossal Titan peeked over the top of the 50-metre wall. Weiss and Ruby both held their breath. Blake planted her knuckles on either side of her body, and she lifted her upper body from the ground and sat there with widened eyes and her jaw agape. Yang's jaw dropped to the ground when she saw the Colossal Titan's face, and Eren could even see the blonde gulp, with a shiver slithering down her back. The cadets themselves stared on in absolute horror.

The giant's sudden appearance made Eren feel as if the moment had happened in slow motion.

No one dared to even mutter a word.

The Titans were back to drive humanity to extinction once more.


	2. Chapter 2 – The Colossal Titan

**{1.} If there is some dialogue that doesn't quite make sense, then just know that I had to go by ear of it. It's not unusual for me to mishear things, especially when it comes to the English Dub of AOT. Seriously. I have to write this while I am watching the anime.**

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

Ruby was speechless as she stared at the giant monster's skinless face. She was in shock, as was everyone else around her.

A shiver crawled up her spine when the Titan's small eyes glared down at Ruby and her team. Somehow, the monstrosity became scarier when she realised it didn't have eyelids or eyebrows. Not to mention, it matched what she envisioned a 'Colossal Titan' would look like.

A powerful gust of steam knocked everyone off the wall before Ruby could even ask if that was indeed the Colossal Titan. She unclipped Crescent Rose from her belt and equipped it, twirling it around with both hands until she stabbed the blade into the wall. Once the scythe was hooked into the concrete, she steadied herself by planting the soles of her boots against the wall, too.

Ruby took the moment to search for her teammates. She turned her head just in time to see Blake cast the bladed-pistol form of her Gambol Shroud at her. Ruby felt the ribbon wrap around her abdomen. Fortunately, though, Ruby didn't lose her grip on her scythe when Blake settled just below her.

Whilst Blake looked for Weiss and Yang in the remaining steam, Ruby raised her head to see that Eren had already projected two wires from the metal objects that sat on either side of his belt. The wires themselves had grappling hooks on the ends of them. The hooks had lodged into the wall, holding Eren up as he planted his feet on the wall to keep himself steady.

Their gear seemed very sophisticated. Then again, the recruits probably thought the same of the weapons that Ruby and her teammates carried.

Ruby's eyes scoured the rest of the wall to see if everyone else was alright after the hit.

Despite having just woken up a few minutes ago after being rendered unconscious, Weiss' movements were swift, clean and simple. The heiress stood on a white glyph near to where Ruby had positioned herself, holding Yang on her back. Her Myrtenaster wasn't even equipped. She could only use her Glyph Semblance to support herself and Yang.

The soldiers themselves had done the same as Eren, shooting the wires from the objects on their belts to hook into the wall and halt their descent. Ruby assumed that the wires must be made with very strong material, as the soldiers were easily able to stay suspended on the wall because of the gear. However, one of them had apparently suffered an injury and had been immediately knocked out by the impact of the steam. He quickly plummeted to the district below.

"Samuel!" shouted the one Ruby knew as Connie. Blake had met him earlier. He seemed to have a naturally loud voice, so she managed to hear him introduce himself to Blake.

Ruby saw Blake move as if she was about to go and save the recruit, but Blake was beaten to it by another girl she recognised as Sasha. Sasha was another one with a particularly loud voice, though not as loud as Connie's. Ruby knew her name because Blake had introduced herself to Sasha.

"Sasha!" another girl screamed after her. Weiss had met her earlier. Her name was Mina Carolina.

Sasha performed a somersault and angled herself vertically. As soon as she pulled that manoeuvre, she shot a hook-wire from one of the small objects on the side of her belt in order to hoist herself up and keep her balance on the wall. Another wire, facing Samuel's quickly falling body, shot out of the other small piece of metal on the opposite side of her belt. The hook lodged itself in his foot, piercing his boot.

"Try not to move! Understand?!" Sasha yelled, her demands seemingly falling on deaf ears.

"That was too damn close," Eren muttered.

Briefly dragging her thoughts away from the situation for a moment, Ruby attempted to process what she'd just witnessed.

The way the recruits manoeuvred with only two wires that had hooks on the end of them seemed like it would take some skill. However, the soldiers did not seem to be much older than her or her teammates, and yet they made it look simple and easy to use at first glance. Humanity had found an incredible way to move around efficiently without having their Aura or Dust to use. In their world of Remnant, Aura and Dust had allowed people – specifically the huntsmen and huntresses – to achieve unimaginable skills, yet these military soldiers didn't have either of those, much less the technology that made up most of Remnant's architectural structures. They obviously didn't know about Semblance, either.

Ruby's thoughts were interrupted when a loud explosion occurred below them, slightly shaking the wall with the impact. It snapped all of their attention to the large hole, which had been reduced to little more than rubble and smoke. If Ruby had to guess, then that hole would have been where the now destroyed gate was situated. The gate itself had apparently been destroyed by the giant, skinless Titan that had suddenly appeared and attacked them, and all that was left of it were large cracks in the wall and smoke that was rising from the shattered concrete. Judging by the size of the monster that was standing just outside of the walls, it didn't take someone as smart as Weiss to figure out that the gate had been kicked in.

When Ruby looked up at Eren above her, she noticed his eyes widening, most likely from shock. However, she didn't have the time nor the expertise to see all of the emotions that were contained inside his teal-green irises, as whatever was there immediately changed into a familiar rage-filled determination. Ruby had seen that many times before, when Yang's Semblance came into effect during a fight.

"Oh god no... not again..."

"They're gonna get in... they're gonna get in... they're gonna get in!"

Ruby's eyes wandered to each of the recruits, who all seemed either scared or confused. On the other hand, Eren's expression gave Ruby the impression that he was angrier than Yang and Weiss could be combined. There was a split second of what Ruby assumed was recognition in his eyes, as if he had experienced a situation like this before, but that look soon disappeared and was replaced with an expression of pure hatred.

"I will... this ends now!" Ruby heard Eren growl. She wasn't sure if this was a personality switch. After all, Eren had seemed like such a nice, awkward, not-really-experienced-with-people-but-still-pretty-friendly type of guy. It was hard to believe that the guy she was talking to just a few minutes prior could suddenly mirror the personality of Wrath of the seven deadly sins.

"Ruby!" the sound of Blake's voice snapped Ruby's attention towards her feline friend. Ruby focused on Blake, eyeing her teammate from over her shoulder. "I don't know what's going on right now, but we have to help these people!" Blake declared.

"Agreed!" Ruby nodded her head defiantly.

Weiss arrived beside them, hopping from glyph to glyph with a light scowl on her face. "Help? How are we supposed to help them? We don't even know what we're up against!" she complained. The heiress' objections towards Ruby and Blake's idea of helping the cadets didn't faze either girl in the slightest. "We also don't know if Dust exists in this world! What if we run out of it while we're fighting?!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Ruby answered, more-so to coerce herself into believing they would find Dust here rather than to sedate Weiss' worries. She pointed down at the disturbingly humanoid giants that were flooding through the hole in the wall. "We might not know what's happening, but we can't let these people die. Like it or not, we have to help these soldiers survive. Right now, it's the only way we're going to get back to Remnant."

"Yang, please tell me you're on board with this." Blake addressed Yang, who had moved onto only one of Weiss' shoulders. How Weiss herself could carry Yang on one shoulder and not have appear to have any problem with doing so was anybody's guess.

Yang averted her eyes and bit her lip for a brief moment. Ruby could see that Yang was anxious, as it wasn't in her nature to make that expression. She could only watch as Yang's violet eyes darted toward the cadets, then the Titans crawling through the hole in the wall, and then Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. A deep exhale escaped her lips just before her eyes met Weiss'. "I'm with Ruby and Blake on this one. Although I don't feel good about this situation at all, we still can't just sit by and watch as the Titans – whatever they may be – destroy humanity. I, for one, think that if we can just fight to the best of our abilities, then we have a chance of surviving this... situation."

Weiss considered that. She averted her gaze and closed her eyes for a moment. "Fine. But, if we're going to fight those monsters, then we better make sure that we aren't reckless. In dire times like these, charging in head-first without a clear plan of attack will likely lead to the worst of outcomes." Weiss advised as she opened her eyes, glancing at each of the other three girls. "I'm not saying this with anyone particularly in mind, but I hope all of you will take caution with your actions."

"Understood and mentally noted." Ruby nodded.

"I only hope you take your own advice as well." Blake replied.

"What do you mean?" Weiss eyed Blake.

"I'm not saying you do this intentionally, but you do tend to attack haphazardly when you're provoked or if someone evokes emotion out of you. It leaves you vulnerable just as much as it does the rest of us." Blake informed her.

"Then I'll be sure to avoid doing that." Weiss nodded contently, surprising Ruby with her acceptance of Blake's advice.

Ruby opened her mouth speak on the fact that Team RWBY had finally found their motivation. However, Eren's shouting voice prevented her from doing so, and opened her eyes to the fact that the cadets also had a motivational speaker in their midst: "This is it, people! Do or die! Mountain Cannon Squad Four, take out the Colossal Titan!" Eren screamed as his wires retracted and shot up the wall. A trail of gas hissed out from a small piece of metal that was fastened around the back of his waist, attached to the gear on his sides, which gave him momentum as he flew through the air. "This is our chance! Don't let it slip away!" Eren continued yelling, as if his voice was some commanding power.

"Eren!" Ruby called out to him, as if her voice would stop him. Considering the fact that there was no time like the present, Ruby grabbed the ribbon of Blake's weapon and heaved Blake up. Ruby caught Blake and pulled her friend close to her. When Ruby swung her arm and removed Crescent Rose from the wall, Blake's limbs wrapped around Ruby's body, as if Blake had already figured that Ruby was proceeding to act. "Hold on tight, Blake! Weiss, Yang, let's go!"

With that, Ruby planted the soles of her boots down on the blade of her scythe, aiming the barrel of her sniper-scythe underneath her. She fired shot after shot after shot in order to propel herself and Blake to the top of the wall. Weiss and Yang followed close behind, with Weiss hopping from glyph to glyph as if they were tall stepping stones. Yang helped to add to the momentum by firing round upon round behind her and Weiss.

When Ruby neared the top of the wall, Blake's Gambol Shroud unwrapped itself from Ruby's abdomen. Blake cast her weapon at the edge of the top, providing enough leverage for Ruby to utilise her Speed Semblance and give both girls a boost. As soon as they reached the top of the wall, Ruby and Blake both landed in a roll, somehow ending up on either side of where Eren had landed. Ruby recovered immediately and grabbed Crescent Rose with a steady grip, letting Eren see that her weapon was a glorious reaper's scythe combined with a sniper rifle.

Blake also got into a fighting stance, holding her katana and sheath with an almost vice-like grip. Ruby could have sworn Blake's knuckles were turning white with the strength she held her weapon with. Weiss and Yang joined them a few seconds later, with Weiss hopping into her unique fighting stance as she drew her Myrtenaster, and Yang putting her foot down when she readied her Ember Celica.

The Colossal Titan attacked, swinging its massive arm down on the five of them. Eren was the first to jump up as the Titan's hand came crashing down on the wall, as if it was trying to squash a fly or five. Ruby also leapt high into the air, shooting a round from Crescent Rose to propel herself upwards. She disappeared in a red blur, only to reappear on the arm of the Colossal Titan with her signature red rose petals spinning around her figure. Blake narrowly evaded getting swiped off the edge, using her Shadow Semblance to prevent herself from being hit. Weiss summoned a glyph under her feet and leapt high into the air as well, dodging both the flesh and the steam. Yang, however, decided to stay standing where she was. As soon as the giant hand came near her, she spun and smashed both of her fists into its palm. The steam arising from the contact was immense; not to mention that Yang was impressively holding her own, even though the hand was pushing her a considerable ways back.

Ruby dashed up the huge arm, swinging her scythe relentlessly at the flesh of the Titan, which caused wafts of steam to arise from each gash she made. The temperature of the gas it produced was so hot that Ruby could feel the heat practically doing damage to her Aura; though, it hit her in small amounts.

Sparing a second to glance back at her friends, Ruby found that Blake and Weiss were also doing as much as they could to the Titan's large face. Weiss, having used her Ice Dust to create a large sword made of ice, was slashing as best she could at the flesh. Blake, on the other hand, kept swinging in front of the Colossal Titan's eyes and nose, attempting to do as much damage as she could to its eyes.

While watching her two teammates, Ruby briefly forgot about what she was doing. She was only reminded of her situation when Blake screamed at her in a panic.

"Ruby, watch out!"

Without any warning, the Titan's arm moved, and Ruby lost her balance. She slipped off of the fold where the elbow was. In a desperate attempt at recovery, Ruby spun her scythe around and shot a few more rounds out of the barrel aimed at the air underneath her feet. The shots helped to propel her back up.

Without the chance to concentrate on using her Speed Semblance, Ruby could only rely on the rounds shot out of Crescent Rose to get her back. That is, until one of Weiss' glyphs appeared under her feet. Firing another round behind her, Ruby blasted off towards the Titan, raising her scythe above her head before she swung it down on the Colossal Titan's shoulder. The blade of the scythe stabbed into the flesh, allowing Ruby to throw herself onto the stiff muscle. Her hand slipped on the shaft during the process, but Ruby had miraculously managed to steady her grip on the handle.

The Titan showed no pain from the damage she'd inflicted with her scythe upon landing, but instead turned its attention towards her. It took her a moment to realise why it was only paying attention to her attacks **_now_**. The Titan had been preoccupied with Eren's attempts to attack it, hence the late reaction. When Ruby's eyes caught Eren, she lifted her scythe out of the rough shoulder of the Titan and decided to follow Eren to the place he was aiming to attack. Blake did the same, using the ribbon of her Gambol Shroud to swerve through the air behind Eren. Ruby flew through the air with the assistance of her Semblance, stabbing her scythe into the flesh of the Titan's neck. After doing so, she dragged Crescent Rose across the back of the neck with her, speeding towards the nape with Blake and Eren by her side.

The three of them swung their blades at the nape of the neck. However, once they had struck the neck, a blast of steaming hot gas obscured their vision, vaguely threatening to burn them all. Ruby had to use all of her energy to stop herself from flying away, gripping the handle of the scythe with a secure and fixed grip.

Unfortunately, Weiss and Yang were too far away to help. Not only that, but they also had their vision blocked by the steam that the Colossal Titan emitted from its body. Ruby couldn't think of a plan. Yet, when she heard Eren unleash a defiant battle cry, she realised she didn't need to. As soon as Ruby's eyes landed on him, he swung both of his swords ferociously. With one single swipe, he cleanly sliced through the steam, allowing the girls to see clearly again.

Upon the slow disappearance of the steam, they realized that the Colossal Titan had vanished. All three of them had to take a moment to even register the fact that something that big had escaped from them. However, Ruby's train of thought was interrupted as she began to fall. But before she could even begin to think about using her Semblance as a last resort, Eren had already grabbed her by her cloak. He dragged her through the air on his way to land on the wall, where Ruby was then able to stab her scythe into the stone to hold herself steady. Blake cast Gambol Shroud at the wall, piercing the concrete with her sheath as she landed beside Ruby.

"Eren, where'd he go?! Did he get away or did you take him out?!" asked the blond man that Yang had introduced herself to earlier. His name was Thomas, if she remembered correctly. Weiss and Yang joined him on the edge of the wall, their attention directed at Eren, Ruby, and Blake.

"He's gone! Exactly like five years ago!" Eren shouted back in response. "He's here one moment, then gone the next! Just like that!" Eren shot Ruby and Blake a look of astonishment, his anger temporarily faded as he took in the sight of Ruby's and Blake's weaponry. "What the—? What **_are_** those?"

"Oh, this?" Ruby patted Crescent Rose. "It's my weapon. I built it myself. Its name is Crescent Rose. It's a scythe, if you don't know."

"That's bigger than you are!"

"And twice as powerful!" Ruby responded light-heartedly.

"This weapon is also my own." Blake interjected, holding up her katana. "I don't think it's necessary for you to know the name of my weapon, though."

"Stop wasting time and get back up here!" Weiss shouted at all three of them from above.

Ruby rolled her eyes and smiled. "Okay!" she waved at Weiss. Planting the soles of her boots on the concrete, Ruby tore Crescent Rose out of the wall and aimed the barrel underneath her. She fired once, giving her enough momentum to use her Semblance to make it the rest of the way up.

Shooting another wire up the wall, Eren zipped up to the top, closely followed by Blake. Once their feet landed on the top of Wall Rose – or at least, what was left of it – everyone gathered around them.

"Sis! Blake! Are you guys alright?!" Yang immediately asked. She rushed towards the girls, trapping them in a warm hug that almost suffocated Ruby and nearly broke Blake's back.

"We're... fine..." Blake managed to say as she and Ruby wriggled out of Yang's tight embrace.

"Watch what you're doing next time!" Weiss then scolded Ruby. Due to the loudness of the heiress' voice, Ruby shrunk back a bit. "I've only just woken up after suffering a beat-down from that woman Neo! The last thing I should be doing is worrying about your safety!"

Ruby waved her hands in front of her, a wave of guilt washing over her. "Sorry, sorry! I'll be more careful and wary of my surroundings from now on!" she pleaded. "And I promise that I'll try not to get distracted. You won't have to worry about me!"

Weiss folded her arms over her chest. "Hm. I only hope you're right about that."

"I'm sorry, I—" Eren began to say, aiming his apology at Thomas and Connie.

"Don't apologise. Look at us. We were too scared to even move." Thomas interrupted him.

"HEY!" Connie shouted in order to get their attention. "Wallow on your own time! In case you hadn't noticed, there's a breach. We have to act now! If they start pouring in, that's it!"

Before anything more could be said, a shout came from the inner side of the wall.

"LOOK ALIVE!"

Ruby didn't even have a chance to ask what happened. Another man – who seemed to be much older than any of the recruits – suddenly rose to the top of the wall. The three cadets immediately snapped their attention towards him, clenching their fists and holding them over their hearts. Ruby arched a brow at the action. Was it some kind of salute in their military? She had never seen someone salute in that way before.

"Operation Colossal Titan Response is in effect, I expect you to take part!" the man shouted. He had the same gear that all of the recruits had, and similar uniform, though his badge was different. Instead of a shield with two crossed swords, the crest had two red roses overlaying a shield on it, something which had caught Ruby's attention. He then stared at the girls from the corner of his eye. His glare visibly sent a shiver down Ruby's spine, but neither Weiss, Blake, nor Yang flinched. He directed his attention to the three recruits once more. "Who are these girls?!"

"Sir!" the recruits acknowledged him.

"We don't know! They appeared just this morning, sir!" Eren answered.

Shaking his head, he shouted over the recruits again. "Whatever!" he yelled in response. The dismissal allowed Ruby to slouch her shoulders, as she had been tensed up for longer than expected. There wasn't any time to waste in a situation like this one, so questioning where the team had come from was the last thing they needed. Ruby understood that much. "Report to HQ! If you got close to the damn thing, we need details!" he ordered them. Ruby tensed up again. She, Eren, Blake, Weiss, and Yang had to report to their Headquarters.

How would everyone react to seeing someone as outlandish as them?

"Sir!" Eren responded first.

"Sir! We pray the advanced team will be victorious!" Connie replied next.

"And what about you four? Can you girls fight?" the older man asked, turning to the four girls as they huddled up.

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed instantly.

"We were trained to fight monsters. This is nothing different to what we do." Blake added.

Weiss and Yang nodded. "Exactly." they stated in unison.

"Then hop to! We're on the clock!" the older man ordered them. After all four of the girls gave a nod, he turned around and hopped off the edge of the wall, using his gear to fly away from the scene.

Once he left, Ruby saw the three cadets relax. They all let out sighs of relief, before they looked over to the four females. Ruby and the other girls approached them, while Ruby let Crescent Rose revert back to its compact form, clipping onto her belt.

"So, what's going to happen?" Ruby asked, tilting her head at Eren.

"We're going to join with the rest of the soldiers at the Garrison, and join everyone else in our own squads." Eren clarified, letting his salute fall. "So, you four are fighters?"

"Experienced warriors. Huntresses-in-training is the proper term. We're trained in schools to fight the monsters of our world." Blake informed him. Eren nodded, his expression obviously betraying his lack of understanding.

"In short, we're just very capable fighters." Yang summarised.

"Basically that, yeah." Ruby scratched the back of her head. "So, uh... I guess we'll all be going with you to this Garrison place?" Ruby questioned.

Eren nodded again. "Yeah. Since you guys fought the Colossal Titan with me, then it would be better for you to join me at the Garrison."

"Besides, if the story gets around that your squad saw us drop here, then I doubt anyone would believe you without seeing us for themselves." Weiss added. Ruby spared a glance at Weiss. "Either way, we'd still have to go prove to everyone that you're not delusional."

"Will there be more of your friends there?" Yang asked.

"Yes. All of the cadets in the 104th Cadet Corps will be there." Thomas divulged.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Ruby raised a finger. She pointed to the back of her neck with that same finger. "When you attacked the Colossal Titan, why did you go for the back of the neck? Is that its weak spot or something?"

"You catch on quickly." Eren remarked with a smile. "To kill the Titans, you have to carve out the back of their neck, otherwise they just regenerate, even if you tear them limb from limb. From the back of the head to the nape of the neck, the cut has to be one meter high and ten centimetres across, and needs to be deep." he explained. "That's why we carry these swords as part of our gear. With these, we can kill them."

"Wait, is that the only method?" Weiss questioned, almost in disbelief.

"As far as we know, yes, it's the only method." Eren replied, surprisingly cool. Ruby hoped he'd calmed down for now. After all, unleashing all that anger could be really tiring. She considered asking Yang if she ever felt worn out after recovering from a fit of anger.

"If it needs to be that wide and deep, then neither Yang's or my own weaponry would do much good in killing the Titans." Weiss's index finger tapped the blade of her weapon. "I, for one, would not like to be outclassed by Ruby and Blake. Would it be possible for Yang and I to borrow any spare blades you have at the Garrison?"

"We'll see what we can do, but I'm afraid we can't make any promises." Thomas told her.

"Well, at least you'll be trying." Yang comforted.

"On that note, shouldn't we get going? We're probably late to the Garrison."

* * *

 **Mikasa Ackerman  
**

* * *

Mikasa was practically speed-walking through the courtyard of the Garrison in search of Eren. He was late to the tower, and it worried her dearly that she didn't know where he was, or if he was okay. She was desperate to find him, but she tried not to let it show. All that people could see on the outside was pure calmness. But Eren was the only family that she had left, and she'd be damned if she was going to let him die by the hands of those horrid monstrosities.

Everyone that wasn't in the supply depot was outside in the crowded courtyard, which was filled with people either carrying supplies as fast as they could, or the cowards wasting their energy as they made laps around the area in fear. The remainder of soldiers that weren't doing any of those things were simply trying to get to grips with reality, most being sat in the yard or slouched against the walls and pillars. They all looked either lost, confused, terrified, or depressed. Even mixtures of all four weren't uncommon.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire, cadets! Time to put your training to work! I have faith each of your will be a credit to your regiment!"

Making her way into the supply depot, Mikasa passed by Franz and Hannah. They seemed to be confiding in one another, making promises that they would protect each other. This didn't come as a surprise to Mikasa. It was no secret that Franz and Hannah were a couple, after all. The fact was made abundantly clear by Eren this morning, just before he had been tasked with cannon maintenance on top of Wall Rose.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought, Mikasa made her way over to the gas supply, where Armin was sat. Armin was currently filling up the canisters for their gear. Beside him was Eren, which surprised her. Mikasa stopped a few feet behind where the two were, watching on with widened eyes as Eren was in the middle of attempting to calm Armin down. Their blond friend shook uncontrollably with fear, unable to even attach the metal gas pipe in his hand to the gas canister that he was trying to fill up.

"Armin! What's wrong?" Eren hastily asked Armin.

"I... don't worry... I'm fine..." Armin lied; clearly he wasn't fine. He was too terrified to even steady himself. "Just... give me a second for my nerves to settle." he excused. "This is bad, isn't it? There's a hole in the wall 8 meters high and we don't even remotely have the engineering know-how to plug it. That huge boulder near the front gate was our best bet, but we couldn't figure out how to hoist it in place! Unless we seal the breach, the entire city's as good as dead!" Armin pointed out, his voice cracking in desperation. "How long do you think before they take Wall Rose? Seriously, how long?! Think about it! Anytime the moon strikes if they could wipe out the human race in an afternoon!"

"Armin!" Eren suddenly grabbed Armin's forearm, the slam of his hand on the jacket being audible. "Listen to me. You're focused on the past. Look ahead! We're not gonna be the victims anymore!"

As if Eren's words had some controlling power behind them, Armin did as he was told and calmed down. His tensed form slowly relaxed as he gave Eren a shy smile. "Sorry... I'm okay..." He responded.

"That's better." Eren stood up with a smile. "Besides, remember what I told you about the four girls that appeared on top of the wall this morning? They're going to help us!"

"I still find it difficult to believe you," Armin replied, cracking a nervous smile.

Girls appearing on Wall Rose? Four of them? What was Eren talking about?

"Well, you should believe him." a sharp voice came from behind Mikasa. The trio spun around, and Mikasa took two steps back. A white-haired girl in fancy clothing was stood behind her, holding a rapier down by her side. Beside her was a taller blonde girl with purple eyes and clothes that looked a little too revealing.

"Weiss? Yang? What are you two doing here? And where are Ruby and Blake?" Eren began asking nonstop until the blonde raised her hand. He clamped his mouth shut.

"To answer your first question, we didn't know where else to go, so we came in here to find you. And to answer your second question, they're keeping watch on the rooftops outside of the Garrison." replied the white-haired girl, now introduced as Weiss.

"Oh. Did the others manage to find some blades for you to work with?" Eren tilted his head. Mikasa couldn't believe what she was hearing. The others in Eren's squad helped to find the blades for these girls? Why?

Now that the subject had been brought up, Mikasa could see that the two girls had indeed managed to find some boxes with blades in them. They were both carrying two boxes on their backs, held in place by black straps that stretched around to their fronts, creating an 'X' over their torsos.

"Yeah. I just hope we don't have more than we'll need." answered the blonde girl, apparently named Yang. There was a moment of silence where Eren's eye twitched when he caught sight of Yang's long, loose blonde hair. Yang arched a brow. "Is there something wrong?"

"Are you going to keep your hair down like that? It could be dangerous to not at least tie it up. Especially when you're dealing with blades, or what if it get's pulled?" Eren inquired.

"Trust me, if something happens to even a strand of my hair, you'll know about it." Yang confidently replied, seeming sure of herself. "Besides, it'll be pointless to put my hair up. And I don't like cutting my hair."

"Somehow, I don't feel like I should ask why." Eren remarked with a deadpan expression.

"So, are these two your friends?" Weiss asked. From the tone of her voice, Mikasa could tell that Weiss was trying to be as polite as she could.

"Oh, yeah, they are." Eren nodded with a smile. Armin suddenly stood up for some reason, probably having finished filling the gas canisters. Though, Mikasa did find it strange that his gaze never left Weiss. Using his hands, Eren indicated to Armin and Mikasa as he introduced them: "This is Armin. We're childhood friends. And this is Mikasa. My family took her in after her parents died... it's a long story."

"Oh! So, she's basically your foster sister." Yang chimed in.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Eren nodded.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both." Weiss performed a half-bow. Mikasa had to arch a brow at the display of formality.

"Any friend of Eren is a friend of ours." Yang gave them both a thumbs-up.

"Guys!" a girl with long black hair then dashed into the room, skidding to a halt beside Weiss. "Everyone's gathering in the courtyard. We should join them."

* * *

Captain Kittz Voerman had yet to appear in the courtyard to lead everyone – running late was never a good start to an assembly. Still, Mikasa relished the time she had to meet and get to know the other girls, Ruby and Blake.

Mikasa found whom she assumed was Ruby sitting on the roof of one of the cornering towers. Her hooded cloak, strange as it seemed, was releasing red rose petals while the weird red fabric fluttered with the estranged wind. Mikasa pursed her lips and raised a brow, confused. Why was her cloak doing that? More-so, why was she holding a large red scythe?

Mikasa raised her arm high above her head. "Hello?" she yelled, hoping her voice travelled far enough to reach the girl. The girl's head turned, and shared eye contact with Mikasa over her shoulder. Mikasa shouted again. "Ruby, is it?"

The scythe suddenly became smaller and appeared to clip onto the back of the girl's belt. She hopped over the other side and slid down the tiled slope, before leaping between the walls of the tower and the building beside it. Mikasa approached her when she landed upright on the ground, her boots just barely skidding on the concrete.

"You're Ruby, correct?" Mikasa inquired again as soon as she was in close proximity to the opposite female.

Ruby nodded happily. "Yes! My name is Ruby Rose." the girl smiled awkwardly. Ruby tilted her head. "Are you a cadet too? Maybe one of Eren's friends?"

"I am. My name's Mikasa Ackerman; Eren's foster sister." Mikasa introduced herself. She nervously held her hand out for a handshake.

"Foster sister? Did his family adopt you?" Ruby shook her hand.

"Yes." she told her.

"As much as I want to know why, I guess this situation isn't the best time for personal stories." Ruby clasped her hands together in front of her skirt. "Maybe we can get to know each other better when we both survive this?"

"That... sounds good. I'd like that." Mikasa nodded her head, revealing a smile that she didn't often let others see.

"Hey, sis!" the sudden sound of Yang's voice alerted the two girls. "I see you've met Mikasa."

"You've met her already?" Ruby arched a brow.

"Yeah. Weiss and I didn't know what to do, so we went to look for Eren." Yang approached the duo. "He also has another friend named Armin. I think he's an intellectual, like Weiss."

"Really? Where is he?" Ruby questioned.

"Eren decided to leave him with Weiss." Yang informed them. "He seems pretty curious about her."

"Curious how?" Ruby narrowed her eyes.

"He said she looked very elegant and stylish, and asked if she was something related to royalty." Yang explained. "He was then asking about Weiss' weapon, and if Weiss had anything to say in regards to advice when on the battlefield. You know, just the typical 'getting to know each other' stuff. Minus the talk about weaponry."

"I thought talking about weaponry was normal when getting to know someone." Ruby commented.

"Hey," another familiar voice arose behind Mikasa. Mikasa herself sent a glance over her shoulder. It was the girl with black hair again. So, she was the one called Blake. Blake smiled and held out her hand, "you're Mikasa, right? One of Eren's friends?"

"I am. My name is Mikasa Ackerman." Mikasa shook Blake's hand. "I assume you're Blake?"

"Yes. Blake Belladonna. It's nice to meet you."

"You as well."

"You seem to be getting more social, Blake. I'm proud of you." Yang remarked. She feigned tearing up.

"In a situation such as this one, I find it important to learn as many names and meet as many people as possible." Blake pointed out. "I'd like for some of the more depressed or panicked soldiers to remember that they have help on their side, even if it's just remembering my face or my name. That way, more can fight to survive."

"That's... surprisingly, that's a good plan." Ruby stated.

"It also helps me gain experience with meeting people, so when others try to talk to me for the first time, I won't be as much of a closed-off person... like when I met you guys." Blake rubbed the back of her neck.

"Still, I think it's great that you're thinking of different ways to help people survive." Mikasa added. "From what I've seen, a lot of people might need as much help as they can get."

"Yeah." Ruby, Blake, and Yang all sighed in unison.

"Oh. By the way, have you met Jean?" Mikasa turned back to Blake.

"Hm... no, I don't believe I have." Blake pressed her index finger to her chin. "Is he a friend of yours?"

"I'm not sure if I would class him as a friend. Armin gets along well with Jean, but he has a rivalry with Eren. Whenever there's an opportunity, him and Eren tend to start fights with each other." Mikasa clarified, averting her gaze to find Jean. She found him, still sitting on a wooden box and mumbling to himself. Mikasa's eyes redirected to Blake. "He's over there. He was supposed to be shipping off to the Military Police tomorrow, but now I'm not so sure. But, regardless of that, I think he likes girls with black hair, like you and me. If he meets you, I believe he'll find a reason to try and survive this Titan attack."

"Really? Thank you for your suggestion!" Blake nodded and proceeded to jog toward Jean. Her golden eyes met Mikasa's steely grey ones. "I hope I can make this up to you!"

* * *

"I want everyone to split into four squadrons, as practiced! All squadrons are responsible for supply routing, message relay, and enemy combat under the command of the Garrison Regiment! The inner south squadron will be taking the vanguard! Cadets will be taking the middle guard, led by the support squad! Rear guard will go to the elites!" yelled the commander, Captain Kittz Voerman. "I expect you all to man your posts, knowing the advanced team has been wiped out!"

The crowd gasped. The thought of the advanced team being completely annihilated by the Titans...

Even Mikasa had been caught off-guard by the sudden declaration.

"That's right! The outer gate is history!" the Captain declared, his voice cracking as he spoke. "The Titans are in! This means the Armoured Titan is likely to reappear! If and when he does, the inner gate will also be history!"

Whispers began to arise among the cadets. The fear was sinking into their hearts. Many of them were terrified of the possibility that the Armoured Titan could come back – Mikasa could relate. Though, that fear was soon overruled by the frightening possibility of losing Eren.

"QUIET!"

All noises died down and the whispers stopped.

"Right! Those of the vanguard, be ready! Your mission is a very simple one! Defend the wall 'til the evacuation's done!" Captain Voerman lowered his head, glaring intensely at all of the recruits. "Now, be aware, all of you; desertion is punishable by execution!"

Mikasa heard another round of gasps escape the lips of most of the recruits. Even Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, who were standing at the back alongside Mikasa, seemed appalled at the announcement.

"If it comes to it, lay down your lives! DISMISSED!"

"SIR!" the cadets yelled back at him, showing that they understood. However, Mikasa knew that some wouldn't be able to handle that warning. But then again, if that had not been said, there would probably be many more hopeless soldiers that would have given up immediately.

What were those people, if not a waste of time, space and energy?

When the commander turned around and left the area, the majority of the cadets began sprinting around the courtyard. Mikasa herself could only watch as most of the soldiers surrounding her wallowed in their own misery.

"Why'd this have to happen now?" Jean questioned, not appearing to direct that question at anyone. One of his hands covered his face as he shook with fear. Bertholdt stood beside Jean, peering down at the latter. "Just one more day and I would've been heading for the interior..."

"Um, excuse me?" Blake appeared beside him. Jean's gaze was directed to Blake. He blinked twice, no, three times. It seemed that Blake could tell that Jean was confused. Blake held out a friendly hand for him to shake. "Hi, my name's Blake Belladonna. I came back here with the Cannon Maintenance Squad that Eren was a part of. Do you need any help? You look like you could really use a pick-me-up right now." she said in a comforting, almost motherly tone.

"Uh..." Jean averted his eyes awkwardly for a moment, as if considering what he should say. "...Yeah, I really could use some help right now."

"What do you need? I can get you some water, if you want. Just know that my teammates and I are here to help." Blake planted a hand on Jean's shoulder. "Mikasa told me your name was Jean. I was going to greet you earlier after Mikasa suggested I try to lift your spirits, but Captain Voerman arrived just before I could get to you."

Jean lifted his head, mildly surprised, if Mikasa were to guess. "Mikasa suggested that?"

"Yes, she did. I've been going around meeting as many cadets as I can so that you guys know that you're going to be receiving help on the frontlines. I was hoping that if you guys could remember me or my teammates, then you would be more motivated to try and survive through this ordeal." Blake informed him.

"That sounds nice." Jean responded. He still sounded defeated, but less depressed than before. "But I don't think I'll be fighting much."

"We're not asking you to fight, specifically. If you don't think you can take out a Titan, then you can let me handle most of the fighting." Blake responded calmly. "Or, you can try prove to me that you're capable of protecting yourself." Blake gave him a passive smile as she turned away. "I'll be going to find my teammates. If you need anything else, just look for either a girl in all-white, a tall girl with long blonde hair, or my team leader, the shorter girl wearing a red hooded cloak. That is, if you can't find me."

After that, Blake left Jean to his own devices.

Daz was on the ground, spewing up the remains of whatever he'd recently eaten. Krista rubbed his back, seeming very concerned for Daz's well-being. "You gonna be alright?" Krista asked him. Daz lifted himself up a bit to look at Krista, before he then turned back to the stone ground and began puking again.

"Hey, Mikasa!" the spontaneity of Ruby's appearance next to her almost gave Mikasa a heart attack. Mikasa steadied her heartbeat as she turned to face the diminutive girl, who seemed... rather thrilled. Mikasa couldn't possibly fathom why.

"Sorry. You surprised me a bit, since you appeared so suddenly." Mikasa apologised, even though there was no need to. "You seem happy. Did something good happen?" Mikasa asked as calmly and politely as possible.

"I guess you could say something went well." Ruby chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "Weiss and I are going to be in Eren and Armin's squad. I don't know about Blake or Yang yet, but I just wanted you to take comfort in the fact that Weiss and I will do our very best to ensure the safety and survival of Eren and Armin." Ruby declared. Mikasa could vaguely sense hints of responsibility and hope shining from Ruby's silver eyes. Wasn't there someone in the Scout Regiment who had a similar eye colour?

"And you came to tell me that?"

"Yeah. You told me that you were adopted into Eren's family, so I thought you would hold him very close to your heart. I also believe that you're very close with Armin as well. So, I just wanted to tell you beforehand. I don't know if this news will make you worry less about Eren, but I hope it does something to ease at least some of your nerves."

Mikasa couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness that Ruby produced. "Thank you. But, if anything goes awry, please come to see me as soon as you can."

"What do you mean—?"

Ruby was interrupted by Jean's loud footfalls as he strolled nearby, clearly agitated about something. He strolled through the courtyard, hastily passing by multiple soldiers that were curled up on the ground, letting their fear get the better of them. Then, Jean collided with Eren.

Both of the men stared at each other for a moment.

"Move it!" Jean suddenly growled as he pushed Eren out of the way. He advanced onward, but was stopped when Eren grabbed his arm.

"What the hell, man?! What's wrong with you?!" Eren questioned him. His anger was rising, as evidenced by his voice. Mikasa and Ruby shared an awkward glance between them as they watched the argument unfold.

"What kind of question is that?! We're all about to be Titan chow! You expect me to sing you a happy little song?!" Jean responded, grabbing a fistful of Eren's shirt. "You're loving this, aren't you, you little psycho!? Course you are! You're whole life's aspiration is to be eaten!"

Mikasa took a step towards the duo, aiming to stop the argument before it escalated any further. Ruby, however, pulled Mikasa back by the edge of her sleeve.

"I don't think it'd be wise to get involved. From what I saw this morning when he went to fight the Colossal Titan, Eren can get pretty reckless when he's riled up or provoked. I think you should be careful about getting caught in the crossfire." Ruby advised in a hushed voice.

Mikasa's eyes widened. She'd never really thought of her safety as something she should prioritise. After all, she always thought she'd do what she had to in order to make sure Eren and Armin were okay. But she never considered someone worrying about _**her**_ safety. "You're right. I understand."

Ruby nodded and released Mikasa's sleeve from her fingers. "As long as you're at least considering your own well-being—"

"I was one day shy of shipping off to the MP!"

"Jean, get a hol—!"

"No! Not all of us are suicidal!"

"Damnit, shut up for a second!" Eren pushed Jean backwards, causing him to hit a pillar. Holding onto Jean's shirt now, Eren began shouting back at the taller cadet. "We're trained for this! What do you think the last three years were about?! We survived. We stared death in the face and we lived. Not everyone can say that, can they? Some people couldn't take it, and either ran or were thrown out. Hell, some people actually died, but not us! Am I right?! We powered through for three years, what's one more day?!"

Both Mikasa and Ruby noticed that some of the defeated recruits lifted their heads to see the commotion; to listen to Eren as he rambled on.

"You can do this, Jean. Right? The MP will still be waiting for you tomorrow. Besides, didn't Blake offer you her help?" Eren added. He let go of Jean's shirt and stepped back, as if to give Jean some room and let his advice sink in.

Jean stood there in shock for a moment. He lowered his head to the side, averting his eyes. "Shit..." he muttered under his breath. Jean spun on his heel and walked away from the encounter. "Daz! On your feet! Stop bawling!"

"Well, that was a thing." Ruby commented, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Both girls were thankful that the situation was diffused. Ruby approached Eren with incredible speed, which caught him off-guard for a second. "So, is the MP one of those military branches that you told us about?" she asked Eren.

"Yeah, it is. The Military Police is quite a popular choice for cowards who like to live within the safety of the walls." Eren answered, his voice bitter as he talked about the MPs. No surprise there.

"Which branch are you planning to join?" Ruby inquired, hopping to his side.

"I'm going to join the Scouts." Eren informed her, cracking a rare small smile at Ruby. "They're responsible for going outside the walls on expeditions to reclaim the land that was stolen from us by the Titans."

Eren began to walk away as he spoke, but Mikasa quickly approached him. "Eren," Mikasa called out to him, "if things take a turn for the worse, I want you to come find me." she asked him. Though, she admitted, it sounded much more like a demand than a request.

"What? We're in completely different squads!" Eren objected.

"Look, this is gonna get ugly, and when it does, the plan goes out the window. Come and find me so Ruby and I can protect you." Mikasa told him. After what Ruby had said, it would practically be a betrayal for Mikasa to imply that her skills alone could protect Eren. She had to have faith in others sometimes, too. Maybe Ruby was a good starting point to doing that.

"I didn't know that was the plan you had in mind." Ruby remarked, obviously surprised. "I bet you had something else in mind just before I told you about Weiss and I being on the same squad as Eren." she mused with a light chuckle.

"You're not wrong, but you did make me think over some things." Mikasa nodded.

"Wait, you're going to be on the same squad as me?" Eren asked Ruby. It surprised Mikasa to a degree that Eren didn't know about it.

"Weiss wanted me to go with her so she wouldn't be alone. Apparently Armin asked if she could join the squad with you and him, and Weiss asked me to tag along. Hence why I'm going with you." Ruby clarified.

"Ackerman!" a familiar voice then called out, interrupting the moment between the three of them. The man who had called for Mikasa turned out to be none other than Ian Dietrich, the Captain of the Rear Guard. "You're with me. You've been assigned to the Rear Guard on special orders. Let's get moving."

The Rear Guard consisted of the best elite Garrison soldiers in Trost, and were the last line of defense against the Titans. They had been tasked with helping the citizens evacuate behind Wall Rose, and were supposed to protect the civilians from any Titans that ever got past the first two rows of defence. To be chosen as a member of the Rear Guard was a compliment to a person's skills. To even be assigned to that position instead of being put with the rest of the cadets would be an incredible honour. But Mikasa thought differently.

"But sir! I'm a cadet! I'll slow everyone down!" Mikasa instantly objected. Eren stared at her as if she was insane.

"You're not being asked for a self-evaluation here." the Captain told her. "The mass exodus is falling apart. We need as many elite soldiers as possible to get things back on track."

"Sir! With all do respect—!"

"HEY!" Eren bashed his forehead into Mikasa's. Mikasa took a few steps back to recover, shrinking into herself instinctively as she held her now hurt forehead. Eren stepped closer. "You've been given a direct order. Pull it together – now! This is bigger than the two of us, and you know it! We're on the verge of extinction here! Have some damn perspective!"

Mikasa lowered her head in shame, knowing Eren was right. As much as she wanted to help Ruby protect Eren, she knew that her protectiveness needed to be controlled. She needed to be able to trust that Eren could take care of himself. She had the power to kill more Titans than any other cadet – in fact, she had the power to do anything she wanted – but that didn't mean she could use it to protect Eren if he did not want her to.

"You're right, I'm sorry..." Mikasa quietly apologised. "This whole situation just has me out of my head."

"Are you okay? That headbutt looked like it hurt." Ruby inquired, somehow not driven away by the altercation between the two.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Mikasa nodded her head, sullen beyond her own belief. Eren began walking away, inadvertently leaving Ruby behind to worry over Mikasa. Mikasa didn't waste a second: she grabbed Eren by his sleeve to briefly stop him from advancing. "Just promise...promise me one thing. Whatever happens... don't get yourself killed."

Eren pulled his arm out of Mikasa's grasp, leaving the girl standing there, alone with her own thoughts.

 _'I don't want Ruby to come crying to me about how she couldn't keep you safe and alive. So please... don't die on us.'_


	3. Chapter 3 – The Fall of Squad 34

**{1.} Any hints of crossover ships that you find – such as Eren X Ruby or Armin X Weiss – are all intended to be there. Eren X Ruby is one of my favourite crack ships of all time, so I included it in this.  
For Armin X Weiss, I think that it would be cute to see, since it would sort of have a positive effect on Weiss' attitude and overall personality; and it could help Armin in the long run.**

 **{2.} If you find anything bad in this story – like a typo or a mistake that I forgot to correct – then please tell me about it so that I can fix it. I can't catch everything by myself.  
And of course, I read the chapters after publishing them in order to make sure they are good. However, I'm usually filled with doubts about the story, and whether or not it makes sense. So if you have anything to tell me about this story, then feel free to say it.**

 **{3.} There will be parts of the chapters that show what is happening back in Remnant. Or more specifically, back in Beacon Academy. Cinder, Emerald and Mercury will be in this too, as this is set at a time when Cinder and her partners in crime will be present in Beacon due to the upcoming Vytal Festival. I hope this clears some things up, but I do believe I mentioned in the first chapter that this takes place during RWBY Volume 2.**

* * *

 **Weiss Schnee**

* * *

Weiss and Ruby had gathered on one of the rooftops, accompanied by Eren's squad. They had been stationed there in order to wait for the signal to move out. The girls had followed Eren ever since they landed in this world, and Weiss was getting continually worried about what they would do if something were to happen to him. But when she tried to talk to Ruby about it, Ruby just laughed and told her that nothing was going to happen to Eren as long as she was around.

Right now, Weiss was stood in-between Eren and his blond friend, Armin, who seemed to be very... interested in her. Armin had asked Weiss so any questions about herself that Eren and Ruby had already started making jokes about it. The joking had gone back and forth between them, which had caused Armin's face to turn bright red several times already. Weiss could only hope Armin's interest didn't stem from something she deemed as ridiculous as love at first sight.

Weiss believed that only a fool would rush into something as deep and complex as love – especially if it was directed towards someone.

"Look at it this way, Armin," Eren started to tell him. "It's a golden opportunity. I mean, if we prove our worth as soldiers, right here, we'll rise up through the ranks. Before long, we could even be leading our own regiment. We can bypass rookie status altogether!" Eren enthusiastically grinned at Armin. Weiss didn't know why Eren had suddenly decided to point that out, but thought it would be best not to voice her opinion. She was still wondering whether or not Eren saw that Armin seemed unfit for a battleground such as this. After all, the potential for blood to be spilled like water across the streets was ever-growing.

Weiss could see the slight breeze ruffle Armin's hair as he contemplated Eren's optimistic words. If it was up to Weiss, she would have stated that she disagreed with his thinking and that Armin wasn't fit to fight something bigger than a Nevermore. But, knowing it wasn't her place to answer for Armin's sake, she stayed quiet instead and kept her thoughts in her head. Armin smiled back at Eren after a brief moment of silent consideration: "Sounds good. I'm with you all the way."

"Now, now, boys. You're not the only ones in your class. Save some of the glory for the rest of us." Mina told them, approaching behind Weiss.

"Good luck beating us to the punch a second time, Eren. No head-starts for you three this round." Thomas mused.

"Is that a challenge?" Eren inquired, as if he found this amusing. If he found this funny, then Weiss would have to question Eren's sense of humour.

"Listen up. Whoever kills the most Titans gets bragging rights." Thomas said.

Eren chuckled. "Better not fudge your scores."

Taking the moment to check the holders of the swords she was holding in her hands, Weiss tried pressing the different buttons and levers on the holders. Nothing did anything, until she found a tiny switch-like thing on the back of the holder and flipped it down, which caused the blades to fall out of the holders. The sudden action left Weiss stepping back with a small shriek.

"What did you do?" Ruby questioned, her tone deadpan. Ruby eyed Weiss out of the corner of her eye.

"I was just wondering what uses the mechanisms had and I accidentally released the blades." Weiss responded. She mentally kicked herself for acting like such a dunce and allowing herself to become a nervous wreck about it. She placed the holders onto the blades and flipped the tiny switch back up, which managed to fix the swords. Weiss silently blessed the fact that the blades didn't shatter easily. "Apparently it's the switch on the back." Weiss motioned to the little switch on the back. "You pull it down to release the blades, and you pull it back up to attach the blades to the holder." She explained, watching as Ruby peered over her shoulder.

"If only Yang was with us. You could've explained your discovery to her." Ruby stated.

"Now that I think about it, where **_did_** Yang and Blake go?" Weiss asked.

"I think that guy asked Blake to join his squad or something. He wanted Blake to provide him with support." Ruby briefly explained.

"What guy?" Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"Mikasa said his name was Jean. Apparently girls with black hair are his type."

"Oh. So... wouldn't you be his type too?" Weiss tilted her head.

Ruby considered it. She really did. Then she shrugged. "Eh. I doubt it. I think Mikasa meant that he liked girls whose hair is _**only**_ black. I have red streaks. See?" Ruby held a portion of her hair with the red tint in it. She released her hair. "Oh! By the way, Yang's with some other squad. The one that Connie was a part of, I think."

"Squad 34, move out!" shouted a male voice from another rooftop nearby, interrupting the conversation with Ruby and Weiss. Two men, whom Weiss presumed to be soldiers of the Garrison Regiment, were stationed there. "The vanguard needs support!"

Eren turned around towards Weiss and the others. The brief moment of humour was quickly replaced by tension and strong-willed determination. "Right! Give 'em hell!"

With a roaring cheer from the soldiers, Squad 34 and Ruby and Weiss set off across the rooftops.

* * *

Weiss had chosen not to use her Dust – in fact, she couldn't. Not with both of her hands holding a sword each. Weiss couldn't use her Myrtenaster. To make up for that, she continually dashed across the rooftops instead, often using her Glyph Semblance alone to gain speed or height.

Ruby, on the other hand, was continually utilizing her Speed Semblance. She sometimes had to fire off rounds from Crescent Rose in order to propel herself higher or faster through the air.

Speaking of the team leader herself, Weiss noticed Ruby occasionally gazing at the metal gear that the cadets carried. The boxes, which were for the disposable blades that made up the swords, hung on the outside of their legs. From what Weiss could see, there were four thin slots in each box, with only three blades being present in either of the boxes. The other two blades were attached to the holders, forming the swords. On top of the boxes were metal canisters, presumably filled with the gas that gave the soldiers enough momentum to fly. Joined to the canisters was a black wire that stretched from the bottom of the holders to the valve on the canisters. There were other wires that connected the canisters to the piece of metal on the back of their waists. The device itself appeared to be responsible for releasing the gas. When the handles were pressed, the gas was vented out of a narrow horizontal slot in the device. There were also two triggers on the handles. Weiss guessed that one of the triggers was for firing the hook-wires, and the other trigger was for retracting the hook-wires. The hook-wires themselves were fired from small objects on each side of the belts the cadets wore.

Thinking about it now, she really should have asked Armin to at least summarise an explanation of the gear. What did he call the gear? Omni-Directional Mobility Gear? No wonder they shortened it to ODM Gear. That would be a mouthful to say out loud.

Shaking her head, Weiss hopped over the gap between two rooftops, easily leaping onto the rim of a chimney pipe with the use of her Aura. Now wasn't the time to take interest in the little things. There was a life-threatening issue here, and Weiss intended to make sure that she and the rest of the team made it out in one piece.

"There's so many of them!" Mina suddenly cried out.

"The vanguard's been completely overwhelmed!" Thomas pointed out.

"I don't believe this! Those guys always talk so big!" Millius exclaimed in shock.

Weiss was confused. What was happening? How could the soldiers in the vanguard be overwhelmed? How did the Titans attack and kill people?

Summoning a glyph underneath her feet, Weiss leaped from the canopy. She twirled over Armin's head and landed – with a backflip – on the rooftop Armin was flying past. Weiss raced to catch up with his speed.

"Armin!" Weiss called out to him, occasionally summoning speed glyphs under her feet in order to catch up with him. "How do the Titans cause so much destruction? What is their method of attack?" she hastily inquired whilst narrowing her eyes to prevent the wind from hitting her irises.

"Huh?! You mean you don't know how Titans kill people?!" Armin's jaw dropped.

"No-one told us!" Weiss informed him. "All anyone's told us is that the Titans are monsters that caused humanity to wall themselves in! That's it!"

"The Titans kill people by eating them!" Armin began to divulge, landing beside Weiss. "It's believed they can smell us, so they tend to gather where many people are located!" Armin clarified as he sprinted alongside the heiress.

"They eat people?!" Weiss exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes widening. She almost wanted to vomit at the thought of someone being eaten alive, especially by a giant. "And I thought the much larger types of Grimm were bad..." she remarked under her breath after averting her gaze.

"WE'VE GOT AN ABNORMAL! PULL BACK!" Eren screamed, ripping Weiss from her thoughts. A Titan leapt from the ground below, much like a cricket or grasshopper would.

Ruby was the first one to act, immediately planting her boots on the blade of her scythe and firing a few rounds. In coordination with her Speed Semblance, Ruby swung her Crescent Rose into the edge of a roof of an observation tower. Her grip on her scythe was secure, but the way she hung off the edge of the rooftop worried Weiss.

Eren followed his own orders and instantly drew himself back, as did Mina, Millius, and Nac. Yet, Armin's reaction time was late. Weiss summoned another glyph under her feet and hopped from the roof again, catching Armin in the process. Her feet landed on another rooftop, in front of the one that Eren, Mina, Nac, and Millius had escaped to. Unfortunately, though, she skidded, tripped, and rolled clumsily on the tiles. She and Armin were left in a heap on the canopy.

With her Aura – however weak it was – absorbing the force of the landing, Weiss immediately sat up and helped Armin to his knees. "Are you alright?" she asked him, ignoring the vague sense of pain in her legs. The pain wasn't too serious, and didn't affect her very much, but hindered her when she tried to stand.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks to you, I am." Armin nodded. His already wide eyes were easy to read, and Weiss could see that he was both in shock and disbelief. Though, when he witnessed Weiss struggling to get to her feet, he immediately sat upright and leaned forward. "Did you hurt yourself trying to protect me? I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. My job is to protect people." Weiss waved her hand in front of her. Planting a hand on her thigh, Weiss slowly rose to her feet. A sigh of relief escaped Weiss' lips afterward, and she held out a hand for Armin. "It's just an ache that'll pass in a minute or two. Besides, I've suffered worse." she told him, using her other hand to give him a thumbs-up.

Armin nodded and took her hand, letting her help him to his feet. Weiss caught him sparing a glance that the scar over her left eye, and a sense of curiosity overtook the emotions in his eyes. Weiss surveyed the area, her eyes scouring her surroundings to see if everyone else was alright after the Abnormal Titan had crashed face-first into the same observation tower Ruby had situated herself on. The windows of the tower were smashed, and the impact had cracked the stone that built it. Its limbs were practically hugging the walls of the tower. Unlike the Colossal Titan, the normal and 'Abnormal' Titans had skin, as well as veins visible through said skin, and hair.

There were five people that Weiss could see: Armin, Ruby, Eren, Mina, Nac, and Millius.

Ruby was dangling dangerously in front of its head. When the Abnormal revealed its face, there was someone else in its mouth. Someone that Weiss probably should have expected to see there.

"Oh my god... please.. help... me..."

Thomas was trapped upside-down between the jaws of the Titan, some small spits of saliva dotting his face as he stared back at the group with fear and pain present in his eyes.

Ruby, being at nose-level with the Titan, wrapped her legs around the shaft of Crescent Rose. Weiss almost had a heart attack when she saw Ruby hanging upside-down, holding her arm out to reach for Thomas. "Here! Come on! I'll pull you out!" Ruby prompted him, reaching further out. Thomas tried to reach for Ruby's hand, but just as she caught his wrist, the Abnormal Titan bit down on Thomas and severed his torso from his legs. Thomas' eyes lost their light in a matter of seconds, following by the los of life in what remained of him. Ruby's face paled and her eyes widened, presumably with the trauma of watching someone else being killed. Weiss could see Ruby's eyes dull, and as if to disturb Weiss further, a lump that she had assumed to be Thomas' lower half was visibly travelling down the Titan's throat.

Weiss was at her limit. She dropped to her knees in shock, releasing her grip on her swords as she proceeded to cover her mouth with her hands. She could feel her stomach churning, threatening to spill the last meal she'd had in Remnant all over the tiles. Armin planted his hands on Weiss' shoulders, as if attempting to comfort her. It was likely Armin knew that this was a natural reaction for someone's first time witnessing another person getting eaten alive.

Weiss was then alerted to the sound of Ruby's grasp on Thomas' wrist slipping. It was clear from her expression that the shock had put her in a temporarily comatose state, so she would have no idea of what she was doing. Thomas' wrist slipped from her hand and his torso fell to the ground below. Ruby stayed where she was, further creeping Weiss out with the fact that she didn't move a muscle. Her hand was still in the same place, but it wasn't holding onto anything.

Everyone else was frozen in shock. It was obvious they were processing what they'd just witnessed. No one acted on it until the Abnormal seemed to be satisfied with its human meal and turned away from the group, leaving Ruby there to suffer with the knowledge that she had been unable to prevent Thomas' death. As it leaped away to find some other unfortunate soldier to devour, Eren's rage went into overdrive.

"You...YOU BASTARD!" Eren screamed.

With a hiss from his gear, Eren launched his wires and began his pursuit of the Abnormal.

"EREN!" Armin screamed as Eren took off.

"Wait! Stay with the group!" Nac yelled. Knowing it was futile to stop Eren on his mission to get revenge for Thomas, Armin, Mina, Nac and Millius all projected their wires and set out to follow the hothead.

"Eren, stop! You're being too reckless! Calm down and come back before you get hurt!" Weiss screamed at Eren, although he was long since gone. Her hand was frozen in the air for a brief moment before she realised she had to pull herself together. Despite how gross it was, Weiss spat the potential vomit out of her mouth and wiped away the smudges on the corners of her lips. Summoning a road of glyphs out in front of her, Weiss picked up her swords and set off.

She leapt from one of the glyphs closest to the observation tower. As one hand gripped the shaft of Crescent Rose, Weiss wrapped her other arm under Ruby's right arm and pushed her team partner onto her shoulder. Once she had steadied Ruby on her shoulder, Weiss pulled Crescent Rose out of the roof of the observation tower and created another glyph to land on. Weiss leapt from the glyph and cast herself in the direction that Eren and the others had gone. She used her own Aura to transform Ruby's scythe back into its compact form.

When Weiss landed softly on a rooftop, she took a moment to attach the compact form of Crescent Rose back onto Ruby's belt. It was only when a shout from Eren grabbed her attention that she began to regret halting her advance.

"Get back here! You're gonna pay for killing my friend!"

"Someone stop him! He's going to get himself killed!" Weiss screamed, stepping forward.

Weiss could only watch in horror as Eren spun through the air, diving for the Abnormal Titan's weak spot; diving for the kill.

A Titan arose from the street below.

"EREN! There's a Titan below! LOOK OUT!" Weiss yelled again in desperation, her eyes widening when Ruby dropped off of her shoulder in that same moment.

Too late.

The Titan opened its mouth and snapped its jaws shut, catching Eren's leg between its teeth and biting it clean off before Eren could even register what happened. The impact caused Eren to lose control of what he was doing and drop out of the air, crashing and tumbling onto a series of rooftops until he landed on his front. It quickly became clear to Weiss that Eren was paralysed, not just by the loss of his leg, but also with shock. If he didn't get medical attention soon, he would most likely bleed to death, should a Titan not devour him first.

Weiss gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration, before her foot harshly met Ruby's abdomen. "Get back to reality! Thomas was dead as soon as he got caught in that Titan's mouth! Yeah, his death could have been prevented, but not by you!" Weiss shouted, her anger fuelling her repeated kicks to Ruby's torso, the team leader's Aura and traumatised mindset be damned. "Don't you _**dare**_ go comatose on me! It was you who tried to convince me that we have to help as many people as we can in order to go home! You want to make good on that, don't you?! Then get up and stop feeling sorry for those you couldn't have saved! People die! Death is a part of life, no matter how it happens! And more people than just Thomas will die if you don't get up and start fighting back! If you don't want more people to meet similar ends to Thomas, then do something about it! Wallowing in your guilt and grief achieves _**nothing**_!"

Unaware of her surroundings, Weiss reacted a few seconds late when a very large finger and thumb lifted her off the roof by the edge of her skirt. Weiss dangled dangerously in front of the face of another Titan. Her breathing became laboured as she stared into the open mouth of the Titan, starting to panic. Sparing a glance at Ruby, the heiress found that her team leader was in the process of sitting up, propping herself up on the palms of her hands.

Ruby and Weiss locked eyes, and Ruby's silver eyes widened. Weiss could only watch as Ruby's brows furrowed and she ripped Crescent Rose from her belt, allowing it to transform back into its scythe form. Ruby sprinted towards the Titan and leapt onto its shoulder, much to Weiss' surprise, before swinging the scythe at the Titan's neck. The scythe tore through the neck, slicing the head clean off the body with a clearly audible 'rip'. In the same twirl of her body, Ruby again swung her scythe at the nape of the Titan's neck and carved the flesh clean out.

Once the Titan let go of Weiss upon its death, Weiss summoned a glyph in front of her. She spun in place. Once her feet made contact with the glyph, she recklessly propelled herself in a random direction. She managed to get far in the air, but she eventually fell from the air. In the next moment, Weiss crashed on a rooftop and dropped her swords. The swords stayed intact, thankfully. Though, the landing impacted heavily on Weiss' body and Aura.

Weiss' Aura absorbed the heavy impact, yet it had hurt her body more than she'd anticipated. She'd clearly taken a heavy hit from that rough landing. Even worse was the fact that her head throbbed with incredible pain. She desperately struggled to keep her eyes open, and her vision was going blurry. All she could see was that she had landed beside Armin, and that Ruby had landed on the rooftop beside her as well. Armin crawled over to her whilst Ruby picked her up.

"Weiss! You're okay, aren't you?!" Armin cried in a panic.

Weiss' eyelids flickered open, and she shakily put her hands down on the tiles, attempting to lift herself up. The impact of the fall she took had undoubtedly done something to her head. She had a killer headache, and her body felt weak at the moment. It took all her energy to move Ruby's arms away from her as she sat up. She wasn't going to die from the impact, was she?

"I'm... okay... I think..." Weiss painfully spoke, rubbing her jaw as if it would feel better.

"You're not okay! Your head is bleeding!" Ruby pointed out, leaning her face closer to Weiss'.

"Look at you, worrying for me..." Weiss gave Ruby a bittersweet smile. "I kicked you repeatedly... I shouted at you and hurt you, and yet... you're the one telling me my head is bleeding."

"You were just trying to get me back to my senses. Granted, your kicks hurt, but you got the message through." Ruby rubbed Weiss' hair, her lips curling up into the same bittersweet smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Weiss mused, gently batting Ruby's hands away. "Go save Eren. He's hurt. Go and get him before a Titan does."

As soon as Weiss said that, blood trickled from her forehead, dripping down the bridge of her nose and the sides of her face. Her head was really bleeding, as Ruby had told her. Weiss pressed her hands to the top of her head. She was bleeding excessively from the impact. It was likely her fall had been from too high a place, and with her Aura also being weakened with the damage she'd sustained before she ended up in this world, the injuries she sustained were more visible than she'd previously expected. It came as a surprise that her Aura was still intact, even as she bled. Though, her cuts and bruises soon began to heal, and her body surged with vitality again.

"Okay," Ruby nodded and let go of Weiss, before she rose to her feet. She twirled in place and leapt from the rooftop. "Eren! I'm coming to help!"

Once Ruby had left her and Armin, Weiss' vision started to clear. Upon regaining her sight, Weiss saw the head of a grey bearded Titan approach her and Armin. It reached its hand out to grab Armin by the leather brown jacket he wore. Her eyes widened, but her brows furrowed immediately afterward, and she pushed the boy aside. Weiss swiftly rose to her feet and grabbed one of the swords she'd dropped, before swinging the sword and slicing four of the Titan's fingers clean off its hand. Smoke arose from the open wounds and the Titan retracted its hand. Weiss' legs shook. Her breathing was erratic.

"Weiss!"

Ruby landed on the roof with a thud. She carried Eren on her back, even as his leg bled out on her already blood red cape. Weiss' attention was diverted from the bearded Titan in front of her and instead to Ruby, who set Eren down on the ridge of the roof. Whilst her attention was directed at Ruby, the bearded Titan lifted Weiss up with its other hand and held the heiress above its open mouth. Weiss threw away her sword, watching the blade pierce the tiles just beside Armin.

Weiss was dropped mercilessly into the Titan's mouth. Even as her body surged with vitality and adrenaline, she had no energy to save herself. All she could do was hold onto a tooth in the Titan's mouth. Her nails chipped away at the enamel on the tooth.

Weiss' life flashed before her eyes.

 _"I'm not always going to be around to save you, Weiss."_

A hand suddenly gripped her wrist.

"Winter...?" Weiss mumbled in confusion as she lifted her head. When she saw who had saved her, her eyes widened again, this time with shock.

She found Armin above her, one of his knees set on another tooth. He was holding the Titan's mouth open with one of his blades, sweat enveloping his face due to the effort he put into saving Weiss. His eyes widened again, a hint of confusion in them, and he tilted his head.

"Winter?" he asked, his voice rather quiet.

Weiss saw his mouth open, as if he was about to say something more, but the Titan moved again. Because of the sudden movement, Armin slipped and fell from the tooth, which led to both him and Weiss sliding down the Titan's throat.

Armin was the only one screaming.

Her mind suddenly went blank as they stopped falling. A hand grabbed Armin's wrist, halting their descent.

Eren had exerted himself to save his blond friend. Ruby was beside him, helping Eren hold up the Titan's jaw. With a grunt, Eren heaved Armin and Weiss up and threw them both in Ruby's direction. Armin and Weiss crashed into Ruby and the three of them flew backwards. Had it not been for Eren's reckless but heroic rescue, Weiss doubted that she and Armin would have landed in a heap on the tiles with Ruby cushioning the impact. Weiss and Armin swiftly recovered, but Ruby managed to get to her feet faster. The first thing Weiss saw when she sat up was Ruby's and Armin's eyes both widening, stretching the skin around their eyes.

Eren was still in the Titan's mouth, blood decorating his face and what remained of one of his legs. Saliva dripped on him as he reached out his hand. Ruby immediately leapt from the roof, reaching out her hand. Armin leaned forward and reached out his arm as well.

"Eren! NO!"

Ruby caught Eren's hand in her own just as the Titan's mouth suddenly snapped shut. Eren's severed arm fell from between the teeth. Armin was horrified, letting out an ear-piercing scream that almost made Weiss go deaf. She had to cover her ears, considering she was sat beside him. Ruby was also in shock, but gravity didn't care for grief experienced in mid-air. As soon as Ruby began to drop out of the air, Weiss scrambled to her feet and clumsily raced over to the edge of the rooftop, where she tripped and skidded on her front before catching Ruby by her ankle.

"You dolt..." Weiss started to scold her teammate, though she did not have the energy to go on a rant. "Don't go into shock when you have nothing directly under you. You could've fallen and gotten yourself hurt. Yang would've killed me for letting that happen. Now come on, let's get you up." she softly told Ruby upon tightening her grip around the girl's ankle. Weiss slid her body backwards while she pulled Ruby back up onto the rooftop. When Weiss sat up, she pulled Ruby into an upright position.

Ruby's expression mirrored the one she wore only a few minutes ago, when Thomas died. Much like how she had caught Thomas's wrist in her hand when he was killed, Ruby also managed to catch Eren's hand in hers when he was eaten. Ruby's silver eyes dulled once again. It soon became clear to Weiss that Ruby had gone comatose for a second time in the span of about five minutes.

Weiss didn't feel grieved over Eren's fate. Or Thomas'. Yes, what happened to them was brutal, but Weiss knew something would've happened to them eventually. Yet, despite that, she felt a strange sense of relief in the pit of her stomach. Was it because there was a chance Eren wasn't dead yet? He had only lost his arm upon being eaten, so there was the possibility. Still, she wasn't one to hope when situations looked grim enough to destroy a person's chances of survival. Though, at least it proved she could still feel _**something**_.

Weiss grunted and shook her head, standing up too fast to process everything. Her vision became blurry, and her head spun. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, thinking it would remedy the headache and blurriness. After she opened her eyes again, she realised that Armin was also comatose.

Much like Ruby, Armin didn't move. He simply stared down at the tiles in shock.

But that Titan was still in action, even after its recent meal.

"Mina! Nac! Millius!" Weiss called out to the other people in the squad, hoping for a means of backup. No one answered. Weiss jogged over to the edge of the rooftop. "Mina!" she yelled. "Nac! Millius! Are you there?!" she continued to shout.

Still no-one answered.

But the Titans reacted.

One Titan nearby dropped a familiar body. The crown of the body's head was missing, but enough of the body was left to allow Weiss to identify the body as Mina's.

"You can't be serious—!" Weiss muttered, baring her teeth in frustration. There were two Titans approaching her. Ruby and Armin weren't moving. Weiss was alone in this matter. She growled to herself. "RUBY! ARMIN!" she yelled at the two, her hands again balling into fists. Neither one moved.

Weiss screamed, releasing her pent-up irritation and rage. It was a brief moment in time, but Weiss felt as if her screams toward Heaven would break the clouds apart. When she was done, her voice was hoarse, but her motivation was sky high. She whipped out her Myrtenaster, fiercely spinning the Dust revolver around until it set on Ice Dust.

She sprung from the rooftop. Reckless and suicidal as the attack was, she aimed for the legs of the bearded Titan regardless. Her rapier pierced the ground just beside the Titan's smallest toe, creating layers upon layers of frozen ice that trapped the Titan's legs in place. The ice stopped at the top of the Titan's thighs. The giant was stuck in place.

The ground shook again as the Titan that ate Mina closed in on Weiss. Weiss instantly spun in place, her Ice Dust still activated. Summoning a glyph in front of her, Weiss created a large sword made out of ice, and violently chopped at the knees of the Titan. Its lower legs fell out from under it, and the Titan collapsed, landing on its back.

Once she found her chance to escape, Weiss leapt back up to the rooftop. Putting her Myrtenaster away, Weiss picked up her swords and slipped them into the boxes on her back. Once she hoisted Ruby over her shoulder, she picked up Armin and held him under her free arm.

"Retreat to the Rear Guard, Weiss. You'll need to recuperate and figure out what to do next."

* * *

Weiss arrived on a building a few houses away from the inner gate. She was unable to see whether or not the civilians had evacuated yet, but the faint noise coming from the area proved that some, if not all of them, were still at the gate. And why were they shouting?

She set Armin down on the wall of an attic and planted Ruby down beside him. Ruby still had Eren's severed arm in her hands. Weiss herself was shaken up by what she had experienced, but her first and foremost concern was to survive and cope with her head injury. Her Aura may have healed the wound, but she needed to get the blood cleared up soon – she wasn't one for staining her clothes, particularly with her own blood. And though she was grieved with knowing Armin's squad was dead, she did nothing to let it get her down.

After all, death was a part of life, regardless of the 'how' and 'why'.

Weiss glanced at Armin, who was comatose. He was sat there in a trance, his eyes emotionless and empty. It would be wise to take Armin to where the other recruits were gathered, but that required time in order to find the soldiers themselves. Trost was a fairly huge district, and there were many Titans spread throughout it. The chances of Weiss and Ruby actually finding soldiers alive was likely quite low, but with Weiss on her own, the probability was almost impossible.

Of course, she could also do something that would capture either Blake's or Yang's attention, but doing so had the potential to attract more Titans. It would be difficult to protect both Ruby and Armin from more than one Titan. And being so close to the inner gate offered up more potential dangers than Weiss was willing to think about. It would be best to search on her own rather than put others in danger.

What Armin was experiencing right now was undoubtedly taking a much heavier toll on him than on Weiss herself. After all, those who had been killed were not her friends specifically. At best, they were merely simple acquaintances of Team RWBY, which the girls had first met when they arrived in this world. Sure, Eren had helped them out quite a bit before he was eaten, but it was only Ruby and Yang who seemed to think of him as a friend. What Blake thought of him as was uncertain, as far as Weiss knew. For Weiss herself, Eren was an ally; not necessarily someone she could form a bond of friendship with so soon.

Speaking of Eren, the boy himself made her anxious. It was clear to Weiss that Eren was the type of person who was easy to get attached to, despite being quick to anger and aggression. Pairing someone like that with Ruby, who was someone that got overly attached to people she considered 'friends', would bring about the potential for disaster. Someone with a tendency to get too attached and someone who was easy to get attached to would make a bad combination in a world as devastating as this.

Wouldn't it?

Weiss wondered if she was right. Seeing Ruby being as unresponsive as Armin – since Weiss had taken them both and left the scene of the massacre – further amplified the heiress' worries. For once in her life, she didn't want to be right.

And... now that she thought about it, Weiss realised that _**that**_ wasn't a massacre. Not by a long shot.

The humans were being slaughtered by the Titans. The girls were in the middle of a war that humanity was no doubt losing. The Titans were keeping humanity trapped inside the walls like cattle, and it was because of the Colossal Titan's invitation for the Titans that the soldiers were being mutilated – even beyond recognition – as if the death toll was _**just**_ a number. Yet despite how valiantly the soldiers fought, they were still on the losing side.

It was obvious they had been on the losing side ever since the walls were erected over 100 years ago.

Weiss rested her hands behind her head and laid back on the canopy tiles. "At least the sun hid itself. I guess mother nature takes pity on humanity once in a while, too." she said absent-mindedly. "I should check my Aura. I wonder how the others are doing."

She reached into her silver satchel and pulled out both her small and large Scrolls. She doubted she would have a signal on her small Scroll, but she could use her large Scroll to check her own Aura level, and maybe see how Yang and Blake were doing, Aura-wise. Placing her small Scroll on her flat abdomen, Weiss opened up her large Scroll.

On the translucent screen of her large Scroll were the statuses of all four members of Team RWBY. As the owner of the Scroll, Weiss' own status and Aura bar were above Ruby's, Blake's, and Yang's. Her heart sank when she saw that her Aura bar was more-so in the yellow, barely bordering orange. At best, at least half of her Aura was gone, and another half of it remained. Did that prove how weak she was? Or did her earlier landings do more damage than she thought it did? Then another thought struck her: had some of her Aura loss come from the fight against the Colossal Titan? Or had some of the damage come from her fight with Neo, before she'd even ended up in this world?

Shaking her head, Weiss' attention was directed to Yang's and Blake's Aura levels. Blake's was still in the green, bordering yellow, but not too worrisome. Weiss simply presumed that the damage was from the battle against the Colossal Titan. Ruby's Aura level was surprisingly just a bit lower than Blake's, but still mostly in the green. Yang's Aura was just lower than Weiss' as well, barely escaping being half-orange and half-yellow. It was likely that Yang's Aura level had dropped so dramatically because of her choice to defend against the Colossal Titan's earlier attack instead of evading it.

"At least they're relatively alright." a sigh of relief escaped Weiss' lips. She closed her large Scroll and put it back in her satchel, picking up her small Scroll instead. Couldn't she set her Scroll to be able to contact those in range? Hopefully so. She could use something convenient right now. Weiss exhaled through her nose and pursed her lips, before aiming her gaze at Ruby. "Ruby... I don't know if you're listening, but I'm sick of seeing people die in front of me. And it's obvious that you are tired of it too..." she started, letting her hand – still holding her small Scroll – fall on the centre of her torso. "The pain becomes worse when I know that I could have – should have – saved them. And I know that you understand that feeling. Aren't you also tired of all the death and misery around us? Don't you... don't you want to put a stop to it?"

Weiss lifted herself off the tiles, finally deciding to take a stand. She ignored the pounding headache as best she could. At this point, pain just proved that she was still alive and kicking. The majority of the blood on her forehead had dried up.

"...I...I do." Ruby mumbled. Weiss couldn't believe she'd heard a response. She had to do a double-take at Ruby.

"Wait, what did you say?" Weiss immediately crouched down beside Ruby, leaning in to make sure she had definitely heard Ruby speak.

"I said I do. And... I agree with you... and for once, I'm willing to admit you are absolutely right." Ruby muttered again. Weiss smiled with glee when she saw Ruby's lips move as she spoke. "I'm tired of it just as much as you are. I just can't help but feel..."

"...Guilty?" Weiss finished, her smile fading as her eyebrows slanted.

Ruby nodded, pursing her lips. "You taught me that not everyone can be saved; that maybe some people are doomed to die as soon as they end up in a grim place or situation. But when you come so close to saving someone... and...and you miss that chance to help them live... it just starts to haunt you. What if... what if the last thing Thomas thought was how much he hated me for not grabbing his hand in time – for not pulling him out of that Titan's mouth fast enough? If I had acted just a little bit faster—!"

"You're wasting brain power thinking about what _**you**_ could've done to save **_him_** , when at the end of the day, Thomas just wasn't fast enough to save _**himself**_. If **_he_** had acted just a little bit faster, he wouldn't have been in that situation. If he had acted just a little bit faster, _**you** _ wouldn't have had to try and save him." Weiss interrupted, planting her free hand on Ruby's right shoulder. "Stop feeling guilty because you couldn't save the people who couldn't save themselves. If they can't save their own lives, then what right does that give them to hate you for their death? It doesn't give them any right. Save whoever you can and want to save, and protect those who are still alive. But don't go out of your way to hate yourself for failing to help those whose mistakes get them killed."

" _'Save whoever you can and want to save'_ , huh?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head. "What about Eren? I know he can still be saved too—"

"No."

Ruby stopped dead in the middle of her sentence and stared up at Weiss, an expression of absolute horror written everywhere on her face. "...What...?"

"No." Weiss repeated.

"What do you mean 'no'—?"

"Let me make myself perfectly clear: you are not going out of your way to save Eren." Weiss firmly told Ruby, her brows furrowed and her gaze steady and intense. "Yes, I am aware that Eren only lost his arm when the Titan ate him. And yes, I know that he wasn't chewed on, either – merely just swallowed. And I know he was alive when he was swallowed. We both know he's alive in that Titan's stomach."

"So why'd you say no?"

"Because he won't have long to live." Weiss remarked with deadly seriousness. Ruby aimed a glare at Weiss. The heiress raised her hand. "Don't give me that look. You know just as well as I do that he also lost a leg before he was eaten, and he lost all of his gear during his immediate fall after the fact. And Don't you know what's inside a stomach? Stomach acid. There's also probably other soldiers that Titan ate _**before**_ Eren. Corpses and acid are not a good combination. He'll be lucky to even survive for long enough to think of a way out of that Titan. If he had Aura, he might've lasted longer, but we both know that he doesn't."

"Then we can at least go back for him!" Ruby grabbed both of Weiss' wrists. "We can still save him!"

"If we do, we'll only make it worse for him! He lost a leg, and his arm is on your lap! He'll be next to useless without two of his limbs!" Weiss objected. Ruby's eyes widened, and her gaze fell to the severed arm laid on her lap. After a pause to calm herself down, Weiss planted her own hand on top of Ruby's. "Listen; I know you want to help him. I do too. But even if we do, his military career will be as good as gone. He won't have an arm or a leg. For someone who wants to wipe out all of the Titans, what do you think that would do to him? It could ruin him."

"We could build him some limbs to replace the ones he lost!" Ruby suggested. Weiss could see that the previously traumatised composure of Ruby was starting to crumble away, leaving only what could be described as a little naïve girl that was desperate to find a way to make someone happy, safe, and useful again. Seeing it almost made Weiss want to retch.

"And how long do you think that'll take?" Weiss questioned, still defiant. Her fists clenched, and she shut her eyes for a second, baring her teeth all the while. After a moment, her clenched fists opened back up and her tensed and stressed form relaxed. "This military isn't the same as the Atlas Military back in Remnant. They don't know how to make artificial body parts for people who've lost them, and I doubt they'd trust _**us**_ to build limbs for their soldiers. To them, we're outsiders, and our presence here will be scrutinised heavily because of it. Besides, the military would have already deemed him useless by the time we start building artificial limbs for him." she ascertained with clear certainty. Weiss sighed again. Upon opening her eyes again, her brows slanted once more, and her expression softened. "This world is cruel. Possibly more cruel than our world. This military is likely just as ruthless when it comes to its soldiers. Once they realise you can't fight, you're gone, deemed useless. Leaving Eren in that Titan's stomach would be the best for him. It at least spares him from the torture he would face if we were to take him back to the higher-ups, even if he is considered a survivor."

Ruby lowered her head, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. After a moment of consideration, Ruby lifted her head again. "Still... even if it's better for him, I can't just leave him. I told Mikasa I would protect him and keep him safe. I can't go back on that." she told Weiss as thin streaks of tears slipped down her cheeks. "You told me that I could save whoever I can and want to save. I want to save Eren, for Mikasa's sake."

"Are you sure it's just for Mikasa's sake?" Weiss softly asked, curious as to why Ruby was so concerned about Eren.

It was obvious that Ruby didn't want to let Mikasa down and risk being hated by Mikasa for possibly not being good enough at protecting Eren, but Weiss knew in her gut that this...this went deeper than what Mikasa wanted. This kind of worry – borderline anxiousness – went further than simple responsibility and a fear of letting down someone important.

What was this called?

Weiss racked her brain for anything that Ruby's anxiousness could be classed under, but came up empty. Of course, the same idea kept slithering its way into Weiss' head – an idea that Weiss was _**not**_ willing to entertain.

"Well, nevermind." Weiss raised her hand, releasing a sigh shortly afterward. After _**that**_ idea became a frightening possibility, Weiss decided she didn't want to hear what Ruby had to say next. "I don't need an answer right away. But... if saving Eren is what you want to do, then I won't stop you. But you better not—huh?" Weiss cut herself off when something in her peripheral view snatched her attention away from Ruby.

The Garrison.

When Weiss directed her full attention toward the soldiers' Headquarters, she gasped. The Garrison was being swarmed by Titans. Several giant silhouettes were scattered around the building. They were all around the ten-metre range, if Weiss had to guess. The Titans had latched themselves to the outer buildings that surrounded the main tower, and were all either climbing over the rooftops or trying to lift themselves up the walls. Weiss guessed that some of the smaller Titans – maybe around the four or five-metre range – would already be inside the Garrison. Perhaps inside the supply room, since it was on ground level.

"Weiss? Weiss, what's wrong?" Ruby asked. Grabbing Eren's severed arm by the cold hand, Ruby stood up and turned around. Her eyes landed on the scene at the Garrison. Ruby's jaw dropped as she took in the horrific sight. "That's...that's HQ, isn't it?"

"It is." Weiss replied, detached. "The soldiers are supposed to be resupplied there, aren't they?" she asked next, trying to keep her emotions in check. She couldn't help but wonder if she sounded apathetic.

"As far as I remember, they are." Ruby responded. Her gaze met Weiss' as her body pivoted in Weiss' direction. "Now that the Garrison's overrun with Titans, the soldiers won't be able to resupply there, nor will the supply team be able to come out and resupply any stranded soldiers either. If the soldiers want to get over the wall, someone will have to get rid of those Titans."

"But how do we go about that? There are way too many for us to handle all at once." Weiss directed toward the scene with a flat palm.

"See if you can get in touch with either Blake or Yang." Ruby told her, unclipping her Crescent Rose from her belt. "They should still be in range for you to send a message out to them."

As Weiss opened her small Scroll, she eyed Ruby from the corner of her eye. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Ruby questioned, glancing at Weiss with sudden confusion.

"You want to go and save Eren, right?" Weiss inquired again. With a sigh, Weiss checked her small Scroll. She had low signal, as she had predicted; but even so, she went to the settings and reconfigured her Scroll to show all contacts who were within range of it. After doing so, she raised her head and held brief eye contact with Ruby, who was stood speechless before her. "If you still want to go and help Eren, then you _**should**_ go and help him." Weiss stated after a moment of hesitation.

"Huh? Wait, you're really going to let me go?"

"I said I would let you go earlier." Weiss told her, her expression deadpan. "However, there is a condition."

"Okay? On what condition?" Ruby tilted her head.

"That you return to me _**unharmed**_."

Ruby's eyes widened — she was clearly taken aback by what Weiss had said, and the unintentional worry that had somehow laced its way into the heiress' voice. Weiss, upon realising this, turned her head away immediately.

"Yang would've killed me if I left you on your own without telling you that." Weiss excused, a pale red hue dusting her cheeks. She folded her arms over her chest and averted her gaze. "And make sure that if you can't find Eren, you look for either me, Yang, or Blake and regroup with one of us. Got it?"

"Yeah, but—" Ruby raised a hand, concerned. "Are...are you sure about this?"

"Go now before I change my mind!"

With that confirmation, Ruby smiled and jumped onto Weiss. "You're the best! Thank you!"

Weiss couldn't help but feel her face heat up at the compliment. With a beet-red face, Weiss grabbed Ruby's shoulders and pulled herself away from the smaller girl. "Just go! Don't thank me! Go! And quickly! Get to him as fast as you can!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Ruby unleashed her Crescent Rose and sprung from the rooftop with the utilisation of her Speed Semblance. Weiss watched on with puffed-up cheeks as Ruby continually disappeared and reappeared in swirls of red, and often red rose petals. Weiss still had yet to figure out exactly why her cloak did that, but it also wasn't high on her list of priorities.

Her gaze switched between Armin and her small Scroll. Closing her small Scroll for the time being, she crouched down beside Armin and placed her hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Armin? Armin, can you hear me? Say something." Weiss softly said to him.

Armin flinched for a moment, and his eyes regained their colour. His head turned slightly. "Weiss...?"

Weiss gave a barely-there smile. "Good. It's nice to see you being responsive at last." she remarked. "We had to move away from the scene. But listen for a moment." she told him, her expression softening once again. "Ruby's gone to find any other soldiers around." Weiss lied, somehow managing to feign being sincere. _'Don't give him potentially false hope.'_ "So... please, just stay with me for now."

The emotions in Armin's eyes changed so much during those two seconds that Weiss wasn't able to keep up with reading them. He then fell into Weiss, enveloping his arms around her arms and back. It took Weiss a moment to react, but when she did, she didn't push him away. She patted his back.

"Where would you like to go? I can take you to the other cadets if you want. I'm sure Blake and Yang are still with them. We can find them." Weiss proposed as she listened to him cry. Water droplets fell on her shoulder. "Save those tears for when we get you to safety and you have a chance to grieve over the loss of your squad."

Armin slowly pulled away from Weiss and wiped his eyes. He smiled for the first time since the slaughter of his squad, even if the smile was grim. "Okay. And... thank you."

"Save your thanks for later."

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

Ruby returned to the scene of the crime in order to find the bearded Titan, among some of the other Titans — if they were still hanging around. But the only thing she saw upon arrival was Connie's group. Connie and Yang were the only ones Ruby recognised.

"Yang! Connie!" she called out to them.

They approached Ruby as soon as she landed with a roll on the rooftop. Yang was clearly in a rush to get to her, and trapped her in a tight hug for the second time that day. Connie followed behind Yang.

"Ruby! I'm glad you're here. Do you know what happened to Eren's squad?" Connie asked her.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but the only deaths I can confirm for you are Mina and Thomas. Eren was eaten, but he only lost an arm and leg and was otherwise swallowed whole. Weiss is with Armin right now. She should still be near the inner gate if she hasn't already set off to find some of the other soldiers." Ruby informed him after Yang released her. Ruby spoke uncontrollably fast. Connie gave her a weird look, one that Ruby couldn't pinpoint, but he seemed to get the gist of what she was saying. Ruby took a breath. "Oh, and I was going to get Eren out of the stomach of the Titan that ate him. But I thought that Titan was here."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Yang suddenly grabbed Ruby by her shoulders and shook her back and forth. "You're going to dive into a Titan's throat to save Eren?!"

"I never said that! Calm down!" Ruby raised her hands, trying to assure Yang that she wouldn't do something so risky.

"But didn't you say that he lost an arm?" a small girl approached the two. She was blonde, and had a similar appearance to Armin. She also seemed to be about the same height as Neo, if not a bit shorter.

"He also lost a leg." Ruby added. "But I'm doing this for Mikasa's sake. To be honest, I'm sure Eren having lost a limb or two wouldn't compare to losing his life."

"So, she asked you to do this?" another girl walked up behind the small blonde. She had short brown hair, which was tied in a low ponytail. Freckles dotted her cheeks. She was also much taller than any other female cadet that Ruby had seen thus far.

"Not really. She told me that Eren was her family, so I told her I'd protect him for her." Ruby informed the girl. "Anyway, did any of you see a Titan with a grey beard around? That was the Titan that ate Eren."

"Actually, we haven't. But we did see shattered ice down in the street below. It's surrounding a Titan's skeleton." Connie told her. He pointed over to the opposite edge of the rooftop. Ruby jogged over to the edge and peered down, holding her scythe beside her for safety.

In the street below was familiar ice. Ruby vaguely remembered that Weiss had created some ice to stop the bearded Titan from moving. Some of the ice had been shattered, and there was the ash-black skeleton of a Titan laid in the place where the ice had been shattered.

It didn't take long for Ruby to put two and two together. That was the bearded Titan that had eaten Eren.

"That's... the Titan I was looking for." Ruby declared in shock.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the Titan that ate Eren. Weiss created the ice to keep the bearded Titan in place. It must have fell when it died, and that caused the ice to break under it." the words flowed out of Ruby's mouth at an alarmingly slow rate. "And if that Titan is dead and decayed..." Ruby pursed her lips as they trembled, tears streaming down her cheeks again. Could Eren have escaped after the Titan died?

"Then Eren must be dead too." Connie exclaimed as soon as Ruby rose to her feet. Ruby blinked and stared at him over her shoulder, extremely confused as to why he would jump to such a conclusion so fast and shut down her hope. Connie seemed to notice this, because he then told her: "Eren must have been one hell of a lucky guy to survive that Titan's decaying stage. When Titans die, they only leave behind a skeleton. Their flesh and organs burn away into steam, as do the people in their stomachs."

Ruby's jaw fell open, and a soft gasp escaped her throat. When Ruby glanced at Yang, she found her sister with her gaze fixed on the tiles and a combination of a knowing look and a hurt expression on her face.

 _'So... she learned about that before I did.'_ Ruby mentally noted. Still, she wasn't ready to accept Eren's fate. Sure, Eren hadn't had his gear and swords when he was eaten, and it became certain he was most likely dead, but she still wasn't ready to accept it. Ruby's gaze lowered and she stared back down at the Titan's skeleton corpse. Upon doing so, something caught her eye. "Huh; that's weird."

"What's weird?" the smaller blonde asked.

"Before I left the HQ this morning, I found out that whenever Titan's die and decay, you can see a carving in the bones that once made up the back of the neck, where the weak spot was cut. That is, if you look at it properly." Ruby informed them, crouching down on the edge of the roof again. "But this skeleton doesn't have that. Instead, all it's got is a large gap in its spine."

"Did Weiss do any other damage to its back before it died?" Yang asked, approaching Ruby and peering over the edge alongside her.

"No. She was just trying to give herself room to escape. All she did was freeze its legs, probably because that's all she felt she needed to do." Ruby spoke so fast that she assumed most of what she said was unintelligible to Yang and Connie. "And since it fell on its front, there's no way the ice could've done that. There would be a sign on the ice of that happening."

"Okay..." Yang replied as she tapped her foot on the tiles, deep in thought. "What do you suppose could have done that then? The only logical explanation would be a cannon, and most of them were destroyed, or aren't anywhere near here."

"Even a cannon probably wouldn't kill it, though. I mean, if a cannonball hit its back, wouldn't it just heal? So it couldn't be a cannon, no matter where that cannon is." Ruby shook her head. She looked up at Yang from her peripheral. "I'll go and see if I can find anything that could be responsible. I have a feeling that whatever I'll find will be important."

"But you could get hurt! Or worse!" Yang immediately objected.

"I'll come back. I always do, don't I?" Ruby smiled and stood up.

And, with the concerned shouts of the cadets behind her, she ignored all better reason and leapt into the street below.


	4. Chapter 4 – Ruby's New Friend

**{1.} I just wanted to say that there will be humour in this story. Maybe you've already seen some so far.**

 **{2.} If anyone has any questions for me about this story, I will write answers for them at the end of some chapters. Kind of like a Q &A. And, I will also put your questions in along with the answers.**

 **{3.} By the way, I've been wondering what the Semblances would be for some of the characters** **–** **namely Eren, Mikasa and Levi. Although this won't come into effect until later, I may need some ideas for a Semblance that would fit with each character. However, this isn't a request, and I won't force you to submit your ideas. But, if you choose to help me in figuring out the character's Semblances, or if you simply give me some concept ideas for a character's Semblance, I will give you a shoutout for your suggestion as a sort of 'thank you'.**

* * *

 **Cinder Fall**

* * *

"The _entire_ team has gone missing?"

Cinder listened in on the conversation between Emerald and Mercury, who were talking about the disappearance of Team RWBY. As they had heard it from Team JNPR, all four members of Team RWBY had mysteriously gone missing last night. In fact, it had happened just a few hours ago, in the early hours of the morning. According to Jaune and Pyrrha, the security footage at the docks was shown during a lecture. Apparently, every full classroom in the school had been shown the security footage as a way of announcing that Team RWBY had gone missing – that is, without having to hold an assembly on the situation.

There was a part of Cinder that wanted to see the embarrassment on Team RWBY's faces when everyone found out what they had done. But there was also another part of Cinder that wanted Team RWBY to never come back from wherever they had been teleported to. After all, with that particular team being out of the picture, her plan would be easier to execute.

Mercury was the one that was surprised at the turn of events. He, Emerald, and Cinder herself had been pretending to be friends with the team. More specifically, their team leader, Ruby. Without Ruby and her teammates, the trio had no primary source to get their information from. It was a downside to their plan, but they would find a way around it, should Cinder did not take it upon herself to ensure that Team RWBY never returned to Beacon first.

"According to the security footage _and_ Roman's account of events." Cinder absent-mindedly answered the question. The news reports on her large Scroll were stating that the military was acting to try and cover up the incident. Beacon, however, wanted the people to scour Remnant in search for the four huntresses-in-training. After all, with the activation of a device like that, they could have ended up anywhere.

"What's happening with the wide-spread search parties that have been initiated?" Mercury questioned, resting his arm on his knee.

"The Schnee Dust Company have asked Atlas to help them search the kingdoms in order to find Weiss. Of course, Ironwood and his 'subordinate', Winter Schnee, are trying to search for Weiss without letting it get to the higher-ups in Atlas' Chain of Command." Emerald informed them both, occasionally making eye contact with Cinder. Cinder nodded at Emerald, indicating that she was registering the information. "Adam's also got half of the White Fang out searching for Blake."

"What about the half-sisters – Ruby and Yang?" Cinder asked.

"To our knowledge, no-one's out looking for them." Emerald told her. "Though, I do know that Ozpin is even more worried about Ruby than any of the other three girls." Emerald said next. The statement caught Cinder off guard for a split second. But although she was surprised by Emerald's remark, her usual smug and cunning demeanour never faltered for a second: with the screen of the large Scroll in her hands being transparent, she couldn't risk letting something so small and irrelevant appear to get to her.

"I'm not surprised," Cinder commented, closing the large Scroll and placing it on the shelf next to her. She sauntered over to her bed and perched herself on the edge of the covers, before looking down her nose at Mercury and Emerald, who were still sitting on the carpet. "Apparently, he let that girl into Beacon two years too soon. It's only right that he's concerned for her more than anyone else. After all, if he had not let her in so early, she wouldn't have gone missing. He likely blames himself for her disappearance."

"Why do you think he let her into Beacon so early?" Emerald asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I don't know. I have theories of my own, but I'll have to look into it myself if I want a definitive answer." Cinder responded. The fact itself just did not make sense to Cinder. Why would Ozpin's attention be on a not-so-special girl like Ruby, instead of someone as strong, powerful and talented as Pyrrha?

Cinder knew that Ruby was indeed gifted with a scythe, and was able to slice Grimm as if killing the monsters was second nature to her. But that seemed to be all the girl was good for. She may have decapitated a Nevermore, but that didn't mean that she was anything above an amateur when it came to fighting _**people**_. However, it would prove Ruby to be an easy target if Cinder ever had to end the girl's existence.

Pyrrha, on the other hand, was another case entirely. Admittedly, Cinder's blood began to pump eagerly as she awaited the day when she would burn that girl to ashes. Perhaps even both girls.

"In any case, should we help out with the search too?" Mercury inquired. Cinder quickly rid herself of her previous thoughts and paid attention to the situation at hand.

"For now. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?"

* * *

 **Jean Kirschtein  
**

* * *

Jean was situated on the ridge of a rooftop, his elbows resting on his knees as he contemplated the horrible situation that he and the rest of the cadets had found themselves in.

How could this happen?

He had been fated for a nice and quiet life inside the safety of Wall Sina, as one of the Military Police, housed far away from a bloody battleground such as this. He wanted to have a family, raise his future children, and die peacefully at old age...

...instead of being eaten by a Titan before he even got shipped out.

The dark clouds that loomed in the sky above him were starting to correspond with the depressed and defeated moods that he shared with the majority of the other recruits. For the past ten minutes, Blake had been defending the large group of cadets from any Titan that seemed to be coming near them or looking to devour them. They were always thankful each time she returned, but it was clear they all knew they weren't helping her situation any more than they were helping their own.

If anything, their inability to move at all was likely making Blake more stressed than fending off the Titans was.

On the bright side (if there was a bright side), the retreat signal had already rung, and the Trost civilians had been evacuated. The soldiers' jobs were complete now that the gate to the interior of Wall Rose was sealed. The initial plan had been for the recruits to be resupplied at the Garrison before retreating behind Wall Rose. The soldiers that had been posted inside the Garrison were also supposed to fill up the gas canisters and come out to find any stranded soldiers that were still miraculously alive and in one piece. Though, both tactics had been doomed to fail as soon as the Garrison was swarmed by too many Titans to count.

Worse was the fact that everyone's canisters were almost empty. The soldiers were unable to operate without using the little amount of gas they had left, and if they did use their gas, they would suffer the equivalent of suicide. Besides, even if they did have enough gas to get to the Garrison, all that would be waiting for them were the Titans – again, the equivalent of suicide.

"Hey, Jean! What are we gonna do?!" Connie inquired, sounding more desperate than Jean had ever heard him before.

"We can't _do_ anything," Jean replied, showing his despair through the bitter tone of his voice. "They finally gave us the order to withdraw, and we're all out of gas." he sadly mused to himself as he placed a hand on the side of his head. "I can't believe this is how it's all gonna end." Jean continued, muttering to himself as if Connie wasn't standing in front of him. "Because of those damn cowards..."

"You mean the supply depot?" Connie interrupted him, pivoting to face Jean. "What is going on?! Where are they?!" he complained, clenching his fists. The muscles in his arms tensed.

"They all lost their will to fight, and I guess I can understand why." Jean answered, his eyes meeting Connie's again. "But they abandoned their duty to supply us, barricading themselves inside HQ. And of course Titans have swarmed the place, which means we can't get the gas ourselves."

Jean noticed Connie's eyes widen. "Then why are we waiting?! We gotta go! Start thinning their numbers so we have a chance!" he shouted at Jean. Connie was clearly trying to sound like Eren – who was currently absent – as he attempted to encourage Jean to get up off his rear. "Sitting here on this roof is totally pointless! Eventually the Titans are gonna come for us! We don't have much gas left. We'll just waste what little we have if we try to run." he carried on, trying to emphasize his point as he softly hit one of his gas canisters. "And without our mobility, we're completely screwed!"

"You're using your head for once, Connie. Nice going." Jean commented as he turned his head in the direction of the Garrison. Connie did the same. "But I'm just not sure if we've got the numbers needed to pull this thing off. The veterans in the vanguard force have all been killed. Now how exactly do a bunch of rookies pull off a suicide mission like this?" Jean rhetorically asked, the gears in his head spinning, albeit slowly. "I mean, let's assume half of our force even survives the initial assault. Then what? The supply room's probably crawling with Titans in the three or four-metre range. I don't see us accomplishing much in there."

"I do." Blake suddenly landed with a roll on the tiles.

"Blake!" Connie jogged over to Blake the moment she appeared, and stopped only a few feet in front of her. "How'd it go out there?"

"I managed to kill only one this round. It seems the number of Titans approaching here is getting smaller." Blake informed them as she slid her katana into its sheath and placed it on her back. "From what I've heard, not many people should be inside the Garrison other than the supply depot. I don't know what those Titans are gaining by going there." she remarked with an obvious sense of caution in her voice. Her gaze was redirected over her shoulder. "To be honest, with all of us gathered here, I expected to meet more Titans. Didn't you say that they can locate people by smelling where a lot are gathered?"

"Now that you say it, it doesn't really make sense either." Jean muttered. "I thought there was something bothering me."

"It's not only that, though," Blake responded. "I don't know about anyone else here, but I highly doubt that the supply depot is still functioning, or even alive. With so many Titans swarming the building, and knowing there's bound to be some of the smaller ones inside, it's possible that most – if not all – of the soldiers in the supply depot added to the number of casualties." Blake stated.

"Which means that if there are any of them left, then they have good reason to barricade themselves in." Reiner finished.

"It sure looks like it." Blake agreed. From the corner of his eye, Jean saw Blake staring out into the distance – a vacant, almost withdrawn expression in her eyes. "But it bothers me that I don't understand why the Titans are still gathered there. There are more people around Trost than there are in HQ. Of course, it could be that something is drawing them towards the Garrison, but I don't see what that could be."

Her eyes regained their spark when something inside Blake's white backpack vibrated and made some sort of musical noise. Blake reached a hand into her backpack and pulled out what seemed to be a small, handheld device.

"Uhm, Blake? What's that in your hand?" Sasha inquired.

"Oh. I forgot that you don't have much technology here." Blake remarked offhandedly, her face drawn in an expression of _'I hope I didn't offend you'_. "I'll explain. In our world, we call these things 'Scrolls', as they open up like the paper ones you pull open to read. This is the smaller version of a Scroll. It allows us to do things like contact our friends, family, and teammates when we are all in different locations. It also allows for many other uses, which I can explain later if you're interested." she explained. She sounded more upbeat than before, though not by much. She looked down at the screen on the small Scroll. "Looks like it's Weiss."

She tapped a button, and Weiss' voice automatically came out of the 'Scroll'.

 _"It took you a while to answer my call. Are you alright?"  
_  
"I'm fine. I was just explaining what a Scroll was to the cadets." Blake answered. "By the way, you're on speaker. The recruits can hear this too."

 _"Oh! Well, in that case, good. I have something to tell you_ and _them."_ Weiss' voice announced. _"I'm coming over to your location soon. I'm dropping Armin off where you are."  
_  
"Wait, hold on. Why are you leaving Armin here? Did something happen to his squad?" Blake asked.

 _"The gist of it is that everyone else apart from Armin and Eren are dead, as far as I know. I have Armin now, but Eren was eaten earlier by a Titan. Ruby's gone to get the poor guy out of the Titan's stomach before he burns from the stomach acid."_

"Hey, wait!" Connie stepped forward. "Ruby said something about that earlier. Apparently Eren lost an arm and a leg, but the rest of him was eaten whole by a Titan. The Titan that ate Eren is dead, though. Its skeleton was the only thing we found left. Though, Ruby went searching for whatever killed the Titan. She said she thinks whatever did it might be important."

 _"Wait, the Titans_ decay _?!"_ Weiss practically shouted through the device. A sigh then echoed through the screen. _"You think he burnt up when the Titan decayed, don't you?"  
_  
"Ruby asked a similar question. I had to tell her that Eren must've been a really lucky guy to escape the—"

 _"_ _—the decaying stage. Yes, I get it, thank you Connie."_ Weiss finished for him. _"Do you know the specific reason why Ruby went off on her own?"_

"Not really..." Connie rubbed the back of his neck. "As far as I remember, she went into the streets to find whatever could've killed the Titan that ate Eren. Apparently a good portion of its spine was missing. Just disappeared completely."

 _"That's weird_ _—wait, did you just say that Ruby went_ after _the thing that killed that Titan?!_ _"_

"Mikasa! Weren't you with the rear guard?" asked a female soldier.

Everyone's attention snapped towards Mikasa, who had just landed on the rooftop and was sprinting towards Annie. Annie was standing near Reiner, Bertholdt, and Marco, all of which completely outclassed her in height. Especially Bertholdt, who was reportedly the tallest member of the 104th Trainee Squad.

"Annie!" Mikasa yelled, causing the blonde in question to turn around. "I know how bad things have gotten. It's selfish, putting personal matters in the forefront, but have you seen Eren's squad?"

"Some squads made it back, but the fate of Eren's is up for debate, as far as I've heard." Annie replied. She didn't seem all that concerned about their situation. Or maybe she was concealing her emotions. Jean didn't know. It was rare that anyone could ever tell what Annie was thinking or feeling. Only Mina Carolina knew that; after all, the two girls were close friends. And now Mina was dead, according to Weiss.

"Hey!" a shout echoed, both near Jean and on the small Scroll Blake held. "I've got Armin!"

Weiss landed softly on the tiles, Armin being carried on her back. His head was hanging low on Weiss' shoulder. In one of Weiss' hands was another small Scroll, identical to the one that Blake had in her hand. Weiss automatically tapped the screen of her Scroll, closing it and dropping it inside the silver satchel on the back of her hip. Blake did the same, but not even a second afterward, her Scroll made the same musical noise.

"Who is it?" Weiss asked.

"Funny timing. It's Yang." Blake tapped the screen again. "Yang?"

 _"Blake, I have something important to tell you and the cadets. Where are you now?"_ Yang's voice originated from the Scroll, much like Weiss' did earlier.

 _"_ I'm... on the roof where the cadets are gathered. Mikasa and Weiss just got here. Weiss has Armin." Blake seemed uneasy about what she said. Or, more likely, she was confused as to why Yang sounded... desperate? "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Blake asked, her brows furrowing.

 _"I'm okay. But this isn't about me. Can everyone else hear this?"_ Yang questioned. Jean could hear her loud and clear, but chose not to say anything.

"Yes; you're on speaker. What is it you want to tell us?"

 _"I just found out why the supply team haven't gone out to resupply anyone."_

"Yang, I think we understand that the supply team have barricaded themselves inside HQ." Blake told her. "There are way too many Titans—"

 _"—Well, yeah, there_ are _a lot of_ _them,"_ Yang cut in, _"but that's not the entire reason they're trapped in the building."_

 _"_ Wait, Yang, what do you mean by that?" Weiss raised the question. Her vocal projection became louder in order to make sure she was heard by Yang.

 _"Captain Voerman, the commander from this morning, left them here to die. If I'm correct, he ordered the supply team to stay and guard the place. He threatened them with charges of treason when they tried to stop him from leaving them."_ Yang told them. _"It's because of him that the plan to resupply has gone belly-up."_

"Wait, why would he do that? What would he get out of it by letting the supply team die in there?" Blake questioned. Jean could almost see the gears turning in Blake's brain, just by the way her eyes darted around.

 _"A chance to save his own skin. From what the supply team told me, Voerman told them that he was needed behind the inner gate, but none of them think it's a real job, especially since he had to leave his post to do it. He's betrayed the recruits because he valued his own life over everyone else's. In short, his own cowardice has endangered everyone's lives."_ Yang explained with considerably more clarity. _"I don't think he's fit to serve on a battlefield."_

"Then why did you call me?" Blake tilted her head at the screen.

 _"Oh! I just wanted to make sure you and everyone else knew the truth. See, even I can be helpful in the worst of times."_

"Right... well, anyway, thank you for the info. We'll make sure to join you in your plan."

"Come on Armin, let's get you somewhere comfortable." Weiss said as she turned and headed toward the wall of what was probably an attic. She set Armin down against the wall, seeming fairly concerned that Armin still hung his head low. "Hey, Armin? I'm sorry. I didn't want to get your hopes up by telling you Ruby was going to look for Eren." Weiss placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"But I'm... yeah, I think I'm gonna have to go now. Weiss is trying to settle Armin down again. I'll see you at the Garrison, Yang." Blake said.

 _"You too, Blake."_ Yang replied. The call was immediately cut off. Blake closed her Scroll, dropping it back inside her backpack.

"Armin!" Mikasa yelled. The boy twitched at the sound of her voice. Weiss stumbled out of the way as Mikasa knelt down in front of him. "Armin, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Mikasa asked quickly. Armin only produced a soft huff as a response, causing Mikasa's eyes to widen for a split second. Mikasa's head turned from left to right, her steely grey eyes clearly trying to search the rooftop for any sign of Eren, or at least any sign that would give her any indication that he had been there. Unfortunately, her searching was useless. "Where's Eren?" Mikasa inquired next. Armin silently gritted his teeth, and a lone tear travelled down his cheek. "Armin..."

"I'm sorry." Weiss remarked, her voice trailing off.

"What are you sorry for?" Mikasa immediately hopped to her feet, leaning toward Weiss.

"You're too close!" Weiss leant backwards. "Listen; a tragic incident happened to Eren's squad earlier today, but I didn't see exactly what happened, or how many of his squad were killed. All I can tell you is that Eren was eaten, the Titan that ate Eren is dead, and there _was_ a _little bit_ of hope that Eren was still alive. Ruby went to go look for him. I didn't tell Armin that myself, since I...I'm not as much of an optimist as Ruby is."

As soon as Weiss explained their situation, as fast as her explanation was, Mikasa crouched down to Armin's level again. "Armin, please. You have to tell me what happened to Eren and his squad."

Armin lifted his head up, revealing the streams of tears that were running down his face. Both Weiss and Mikasa were frozen in shock at what they saw. "They were..." Armin started to say as he lowered his head again. He placed his hands on his knees, his fingers folding into the palms of his hands. His nails dug into his skin. "The cadets of Squad 34: Thomas Wagner, Nac Tilus... Millius Zermusky, Mina Carolina... and... Eren Jaeger. These brave five upheld their duties, and they died valiantly on the field of battle..." he stuttered through his sobbing, leaving everyone in either shock or disbelief.

"Please, no..." Sasha breathed out.

"His whole squad was wiped out?"

"The same will happen to us if we try to take on those Titans..."

"I'm... so sorry Mikasa..." Armin apologized. His body shook due to how much he was crying. "It should have been me that died, not Eren... I couldn't do a thing!"

"What are you talking about?" Weiss suddenly asked him. Weiss' shoulders slumped, and a deep sigh escaped her mouth. "You shouldn't have died in Eren's place. Not when it would have been me that was the cause. Eren was in that situation because you tried to save my life, and you were so important to Eren that he decided to save yours."

Armin didn't respond, just cried even more.

Mikasa suddenly placed her hand on Armin's, her expression deadpan and her eyes appearing dilated and soulless. "Armin, we don't have time for you to get emotional. On your feet." she simply stated as she pulled the boy up, ignoring his confused and dumbstruck expression. Mikasa spun on her heel and drew her last pair of blades from the boxes on either side of her hip. Jean could see that Mikasa's presence alone had filled the defeated soldiers with a sense of hope – she was someone who wanted to wipe out the Titans, and had the power to do so. Still, she often left everyone else in the dust at times. "Marco; if we eliminate or bypass the Titans at HQ, we can there refuel our gear, allowing us to get back over the wall. Is that assessment correct?" Mikasa asked him.

"Well, yeah, sure." Marco answered. "But there's just too many out there. Even with you, Weiss, and Blake on point."

"I can do it." Mikasa declared with sudden ferocity.

"What...?" Marco's response was barely above a whisper.

Mikasa raised her sword in the air, pointing it at the sky. "I'm strong. Real strong. None of you come close, you hear me? I am a warrior!" Mikasa called out. "Know this; I have the power to slay all of the Titans that block our path. Even if I have to do it alone." She aimed her sword down at the crowd of recruits. "As far as I am concerned, I am surrounded by unskilled, cowardly worms. You can all just sit here and twiddle your thumbs while you watch how it's done."

"Okay, there was no need for that," Weiss objected, biting back even though Mikasa didn't respond.

"But Mikasa, that's insane!"

"You can't possibly hope to beat them!"

"If I can't beat them, then I die. But, if I win, then I live." Mikasa told them in retaliation. Mikasa immediately spun around, her back facing the group. "And the only way to win is to fight!" Mikasa declared as she hopped off the edge of the roof. She flew away with the use of her ODM Gear.

"I really hope that she wasn't including us in that _'_ _unskilled, cowardly worms'_ part." Blake commented with a shrug of her shoulders. "And why worms, anyway? There are nicer names to insult people with."

"How pretentious." Weiss pulled out her swords from the boxes on her back. "I have not spent my life training to become a huntress just to be outclassed by someone leagues lower than me in terms of experience, skill, overall intelligence, and strategic ability."

"I think we all know she's going to get herself killed out there if we don't help her." Blake said with such an apathetic voice that it made a shiver travel down Jean's spine. Blake unsheathed her weapon and hopped over to the edge of the canopy. Weiss soon joined her. They both glanced back at the recruits over their shoulders. "I, for one, would not take what Mikasa said lightly. And to be honest, she is a bit overconfident in her abilities as they are. But I hope she gets taken down a notch before she ends up dead. Why not help us to prove her wrong about you?"

Leaving Jean and the cadets to contemplate her rhetorical question, Blake leapt from the rooftop and began her charge, tracing Mikasa's footsteps. Weiss even passed a smug smirk at the recruits, which gained varied reactions from the others. Then, Weiss sprung from the tiles and followed on after Blake.

"Y'know, I was expecting something more motivational." Jean shivered. "I blame everything about this on you, Eren." he said as he raised one of his swords. "HEY! Don't just stand there! We weren't taught to let our comrades fight alone! Unless you are a coward, in which case, stay out of my way!"

Jean felt determined to show that he wasn't a coward; nor a worm for that matter. He sprinted towards the edge of the roof, his swift steps now being directed with a clear purpose in mind. Once he leaped off of the ridge, Jean began firing the wires from his ODM Gear, letting his gas propel him through the sky.

"Never expected that from him." Reiner commented as he, Annie and Bertholdt all began to follow Jean. Armin immediately wiped his tears away afterwards. Marco sighed and pressed the palm of his hand to his face. They both began to trail after them.

"Hey, seriously! Come on, you bunch of chickens!" Sasha shouted at the rest of the cadets, who were all still stuck in awe. She accompanied Marco and Armin, following Jean's lead.

"They're nuts."

"Damn it..." another guy muttered with gritted teeth. "Alright, let's go!"

All of the recruits cheered, before finally following after everyone else.

* * *

 **Yang Xiao Long**

* * *

Yang huffed as she fired round after round from Ember Celica until the soles of her boots hit the wall of the Garrison's main tower. Stabbing her blades into the stone, her feet secured themselves on the vertical landing platform she had made for herself. She grasped her swords tightly. Removing one of the swords from its place in-between the bricks, Yang twirled the top half of her body around in an attempt to get a clear view of her surroundings. Two Titans were approaching her; or rather, the main tower of the Garrison.

The blonde sighed anxiously. "Good job, Yang. You decided to take on all of these guys by yourself. Ymir and Krista offered you their help, but _no_ , you just had to throw it away." she sighed in frustration. Yang's eyes landed on another Titan that was crawling on the rooftop of the building opposite her.

Yang bounced off of the wall, aiming for the Titan on her left. She propelled herself with more rounds from Ember Celica. The Titan's mouth opened as she came near it. Then, Yang performed an aerial backflip and threw the blades at the eyes of the Titan, detaching the blades from the handles as she cast them out. The blades hit their mark, one in each eye, blinding the Titan. With another shot from her gauntlets, she landed on the Titan's shaking shoulders and pulled out another set of blades. Yang leaped from the shoulder and glided by the weak spot, puncturing the corner of it with her new blades and dragging them across the Titan's nape.

It was dead within a matter of seconds.

Yang eased her landing by performing a roll as the Titan fell face-first beside her. Her gaze was then directed to the remaining Titan.

"It would be easier if I could make it fall face-down on the ground, like the other one." Yang mumbled to herself while she wracked her brain for anything that would cause the Titan to fall. A few seconds later, an idea popped into her head. "The Achilles tendon..." she whispered, peering down at the Titan's ankle.

To anyone else, fighting Titans on the ground would be the equivalent of suicide; but considering that this would be Yang's only shot, she'd be a fool not to take it.

Yang smiled to herself and stood back up straight. She instantly set off in a sprint towards the Titan's heel. As she ran, Yang blasted herself into turbo speed with the continuing momentum that the rounds from Ember Celica gave her. She swerved to the side during her speedy approach, all the while focusing her blades and directing it at the heel. Yang drifted towards the Achilles tendon and slashed the heel, making the Titan roar out in pain as it toppled over face-first.

"Got it!"

Yang then skidded to a halt and sprung onto the Titan's back, before she scurried up the Titan's spine. When she came to the back of the neck, she dragged her two blades along the nape, finally carving out the weak spot.

"Finally!"

Yang slipped when she skidded off of the Titan's nape, but she managed to recover quickly. She used her hands to flip back onto her feet.

Now that she'd killed them, the Titans were starting to decay at a very fast rate, almost as if the unbearable heat they emitted were burning the bodies from the inside out. But she couldn't take the time to observe the little things. She had to get to high ground, and fast. And was anyone still alive inside the building? Yang needed to check.

Yang leapt from the ground and drifted to the right, manoeuvring upwards while shooting through the air. She performed another twirl as she came close to the window, kicking the wall on either side of it. Bouncing off the wall, Yang aimed her fist at the window, figuring she may as well enter the building and take a breather. With a punch to the window, the glass shattered and Yang rolled inside the room.

Apparently, the room had become the home to a few crying and frightened soldiers using the desks as a barricade.

"And that makes two Titans so far," A sigh of relief escaped Yang's lips as she took the time to steady her breathing. She wasn't exhausted – not by a long shot. But rather, the rush of the fighting. Despite her endurance capabilities, the adrenaline pumping through her own body was overwhelming, so much so that she had to take a moment for her heart to slow down. Her heartbeat was ridiculously sped up; she was surprised she hadn't suffered a heart attack.

After her heart rate had calmed down, scraping sounds suddenly became audible.

Yang spun around the second she heard that noise; her lips pursed as she slowly tiptoed over to the tables acting as a barricade. "Uh... hello?" she cautiously asked. She tried to sound as polite and non-threatening as possible as she approached whoever was trying to keep hidden. Raising her head to try and peek over the tables, she found four soldiers. Three of them appeared to be scared out of their minds, while one was cleaning out the barrel of what appeared to be a musket. "Oh, hello!" Yang greeted in a kind tone, trying not to scare the group. The man ceased cleaning the barrel of the musket instantly. He turned to Yang, staring at the blonde with a mixture of wonder and horror. The rest of them didn't react to her. Yang kicked one of the tables to snap the attention of the rest of the soldiers to her. It worked "Hi, my name's Yang. I arrived here this morning with former Cannon Maintenance Squad Four, I believe it was called. You may have seen me and some of my friends around the Garrison earlier today."

"Who... are you, exactly?" asked the man. "I know your name is Yang, but are you an outsider or something?"

"I guess you could say that. My and my team ended up on top of Wall Rose after we were dropped into this world. It sounds crazy, but hey, so is a world dominated by dumb humanoid giants."

"I thought you looked otherworldly. When I saw you today, at the Garrison, I mean." remarked the woman. Her voice was quiet, but it wasn't a surprise.

"Yeah. Compared to you guys, I think we're all aware of how outlandish we look. But in case you're suspicious, just know that we aren't your enemies. I've been trying to kill as many Titans as I can outside this building just so the rest of the soldiers out there could get here and resupply." Yang clarified, raising her hands in assurance. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here? Are you the supply team?"

"We... we are."

"Then what are you guys doing here, holed up in this room? I know the situation's chaotic at the moment, but the soldiers out there need gas. Last time I heard, they barely had any left."

"We were ordered to stay here by Captain Kittz Voerman." said the one with the musket still in his hands.

"Wait, you mean the guy who gave that massive speech this morning and gave you your orders?" Yang questioned in disbelief, lowering her hands as she kneeled beside the table. She planted her folded arms on the edge of the table. Why would he tell the supply depot to stay _inside_ the Garrison? The plan was for the supply depot to head out after the civilians had been evacuated and resupply the other soldiers with gas since they were bound to be running low on it.

"That's the one." the same man replied, nodding his head. "Apparently he had a job behind the interior of Wall Rose. But I doubt it was a true job." he remarked with a vague sense of bitterness. "Promise me you won't say anything about what I'm about to say?"

"You're entitled to your own opinion." Yang nodded at him. "So whatever is said stays in this room."

"R-Right. Well... I didn't think Captain Voerman was telling the truth. More like he was just making an excuse to hide behind the safety of the inner gate." the man informed her. His brows furrowed, and he glared at the musket in his hands. "He even tried threatening us with high treason just because we refused to let him go at first. We had no choice. It was clear to see that he valued his own life above the lives of his soldiers and the plan itself."

Yang's jaw dropped. "So he... he ordered you to stay here, abandoning the plan to resupply the recruits, just to save his own skin?" Yang questioned, just to make sure she heard that right.

"It's difficult to believe, isn't it? But what I'm telling you is the truth." the soldier continued, staring into Yang's eyes. "He has a reputation for being a coward, always finding some excuse or another to stay off the frontlines while other people are hurt or killed. He lets his own fear give way to hysteria and irrational logic – hell, I'm not even sure if you could call it logic."

"If that's the case then, it's obvious that we need to limit his number of days in the military. A man like that doesn't seem fit to lead people, even if it is due to shellshock." Yang immediately rose to her feet, her eyes already gone crimson. "And to think he's the guy who said that desertion was punishable by execution. Does anyone else think that's hypocritical? He disobeyed his own orders. Have you not filed any complaints to the Commander to the Garrison Regiment?" Yang asked, now more than irritated with the cowardly Captain's unfitting behaviour. Yes, she knew shellshock caused things like this to happen, but even she knew it was unfair to make others pay the price for a single person's safety. The death toll was rising out there. There was no time for selfishness when humanity itself was at stake in times like these. "You need to talk to someone if you know about the actions of this Captain Voerman." she stated as if the fact was obvious.

"We would, but... how can we?" one of the two girls inquired. "I doubt our claims would be listened to. They could easily just dismiss our evidence against him on the excuse that our claims come from our own hysteria and fear. Not to mention, we could get in trouble if someone thinks we're not telling the truth. It'd be very risky."

Yang slammed her hands down on the edge of the table. The sudden ferocity of it was enough to cause a few cracks to appear in the wood. "I'll talk to the Commander of the Garrison Regiment then. For you." Yang proposed as a kind smile crossed her face, the colour of her irises going back to violet. "I'll inform the Commander about Voerman, and you guys can explain to him that the cowardly actions of Captain Voerman caused the initial plan to backfire and leave many soldiers endangered."

"You would do that?"

"I'd be happy to. Just let me take care of everything for now." Yang told them. "I'll also make sure to get the message out to the other soldiers when I have the chance."

"Thank you!" the soldiers gratefully smiled at the blonde.

"Also," Yang snatched the musket out of the man's hands, "I'm gonna need to borrow this. I hope you don't mind. After all, you don't look like you'll be accomplishing much with this."

"U-Uhh... sure." he replied nervously. "And, uh... no offense, but you don't exactly seem like the type to use guns like that."

"None taken. I'm more of a brawler, actually – trained by my dad. If I remember correctly, this is my first time having to use swords. But I still know what muskets are. In our world, they're more antiques than battle weaponry, so we don't use them a lot, if at all." Yang clarified. "But I'm capable enough. Ruby has a fascination with these sorts of things, so I may know a thing or two about how to go about using 'em."

After bidding her goodbyes to the supply team, Yang exited the room via the window, leaping back into the hell waiting for her outside. One she was outside, Yang hopped up to the highest point of the highest roof within the area. Once finding her balance, Yang pulled out her small Scroll, holding it with a secure grip as she called Blake.

It took a couple of seconds, but Blake answered.

 _"Yang?"  
_  
"Blake, I have something important to tell you and the cadets. Where are you now?"

 _"I'm... on the roof where the cadets are gathered. Mikasa and Weiss just got here. Weiss has Armin. What's wrong? Are you okay?"_

"I'm okay. But this isn't about me. Can everyone else hear this?"

 _"Yes. What is it that you want to tell us?"_

"I just found out why the supply team haven't gone out to resupply anyone."

 _"Yang, I think we understand that the supply team have barricaded themselves inside HQ."_ Blake told her. _"There are way too many Titans_ _—"_

"—Well, yeah, there _are_ a lot of them, but that's not the entire reason they're trapped in the building."

 _"Wait, Yang, what do you mean by that?"_ Weiss was the one to ask this time.

"Captain Voerman, the commander from this morning, left them here to die. If I'm correct, he ordered the supply team to stay and guard the place. He threatened them with charges of treason when they wouldn't let him leave them." Yang informed them. "It's because of him that the plan to resupply has gone belly-up."

 _"But why would he do that, though? What would he get out of it by letting the supply team die in there?"_

"A chance to save his own skin. From what the supply team told me, Voerman told them that he was needed behind the inner gate, but none of them think it's a real job, especially since he had to leave his post to do it. He's betrayed the recruits because he valued his own life over everyone else's. In short, his own cowardice has endangered everyone's lives." Yang explained with considerably more clarity. "I don't think he's fit to serve on a battlefield."

 _"Then why did you call me?"_ asked Blake.

"Oh! I just wanted to make sure you and everyone else knew the truth. See, even I can be helpful in the worst of times."

 _"Right... well, anyway, thank you for the info. We'll make sure to join you in your plan_ _."_ Blake responded. There was a pause. Yang heard a faint trace of Weiss' voice on the other end until Blake spoke up again. _"But I'm... yeah, I think I'm gonna have to go now. Weiss is trying to settle Armin down again. I'll see you at the Garrison, Yang."_

"You too, Blake." Yang then hung up. After sparing a second to put away her small Scroll, Yang lifted herself up and hopped onto one of the lower rooftops, Ember Celica automatically at the ready. "Alright, so... which one of you is next?"

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

"Ereeeen! Eeereeen!"

No matter how many times Ruby called out for him, Eren didn't answer, nor could she find him anywhere. She was starting to lose hope when she came across the familiar ash-black skeletal remains of the bearded Titan that ate Eren. Not only that, but she hadn't found a single Titan nearby. She was sure at least one of them would have reacted to her calls for Eren.

Ruby fell to her knees, facing the large skeletal corpse. She took the time to analyse the bones once more, seeing if any of them shattered upon impact with the ground, or if she could see a portion of its neck bones sliced when it was killed. Since she was previously on a rooftop the first time she'd seen this, she figured that a closer inspection would be needed to ensure she wasn't searching for something that didn't exist.

"It's so strange." Ruby tilted her head when she saw nothing on its neck bones. No marks of a kill anywhere. She was sure she'd overheard something about being able to see the marks of a kill in the nape of a Titan's neck. "You don't have any marks from your death. But the middle of your spine is missing, too. Did it just crumble away when you decayed?"

What was even stranger was that Ruby was talking to a Titan's skeletal remains.

Weirder still, she didn't even attempt to move when she heard rushed, loud footsteps coming her way. She assumed those were a Titan's footfalls. Of course, when she raised her head, her assumption turned out to be correct. It was a Titan. One with a more flustering appearance.

The Titan sported a head of messy brown hair, and glistening green eyes. His body was equally proportioned, unlike most of the other Titans that she'd seen so far. Her face heated up when she saw the muscles the Titan had, and even more so when she realised how defined his abs were.

There was no other way to describe it. This was just flat out weird.

But, for some reason, she was too starstruck to move.

Fortunately, though, the Titan didn't seem to be focused on her. He didn't look at her like she was food. More so like she was familiar to him. Of course, he reminded her a bit of Eren, too; however, it wasn't uncommon to have a combination of green eyes and brown hair.

"Hey!" Ruby finally found the will to make herself stand up. She waved her arm in the air, aiming to get the Titan's attention. He stopped in his tracks. Ruby gulped down her rising anxiousness. The Titan crouched down, lifting Ruby by her cloak. He dropped Ruby on his shoulder. Thankfully, she still had Crescent Rose on the back of her belt, just in case. Luckily enough, though, he wasn't hostile towards her. He was actually very friendly... for a Titan.

Before Ruby could say anything else, he started walking again, this time in the opposite direction. He was going back the way he came?

"Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby asked when the Titan started jogging. "What do I call you? Why did you pick me up? Can you understand anything I'm saying?" she questioned ceaselessly.

The Titan softly roared in response.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Titan!" Ruby told him in response.

The Titan shook his head, before lowering it and aiming a concentrated glare at another Titan that blocked their path.

The new Titan on the scene had a distinctive potbelly, which wasn't anything unusual. Its arms were also fairly thin, leading to a disproportionate appearance. It stared at Ruby's new Titan friend as if he was its prey. Surprisingly, it didn't seem too concerned with Ruby there, even though she was on the shoulder of its prey. Or maybe it was staring both of them down. She couldn't really see if that was the case, in all honesty.

"Great..." Ruby sighed. She sat up, holding onto the hair of the Friendly Titan, and unclipped Crescent Rose from her belt. Midway through Crescent Rose's transformation into its scythe form, the Friendly Titan roared at the opposing one.

 _Now_ he was hostile. But only towards the potbellied Titan. Not towards Ruby.

She probably would have considered it as strange, but she had only been in this world for a number of hours, so she couldn't yet judge whether he was special, or just one of a few Titans on humanity's side.

Ruby sighed and let her Crescent Rose retract into its compact storage form. "I see you want to take this one?" she asked him, just to be sure. He slowly nodded his head. Not even two seconds afterward, he raised his arms up and moved into a fighting stance, tightly clenched fists positioned in front of either side of his face. Ruby arched a brow, accompanying the action with a tilt of her head. "Huh...? Isn't that a stance for hand-to-hand combat...?" she inquired, directing the question to no-one in particular.

Ruby's concentration was knocked when the Friendly Titan began his advance toward the potbellied one. The potbellied Titan, as if in response, strolled towards Ruby and the Friendly Titan, likely aiming to devour the both of them; if it could. Both Titans released high-pitched, loud roars. Ruby had to cover her ears.

As soon as the potbellied Titan took one step forward, the Friendly Titan swung his fist. His fist hit the cheek of the opposing Titan and sent him flying backwards, landing on the ground and tearing up the ground. Ruby could only watch on as her new friend then dashed toward the Titan sprawled out in the street, delivering a swift kick to its head. The head detached from the neck as if it had been torn off, and rolled away, littering the ground with blood. As the blood began to evaporate, he immediately began pummelling what was left of the Titan's neck, slamming his foot down ceaselessly until he seemed sure it was dead.

"Well," Ruby started to say, slowly stealing herself away from the shock and brutality of the killing. "I should've expected to meet a Titan that's gone rogue."

The 'Friendly Titan', as she'd considered him earlier, would have to be changed to the 'Rogue Titan'.

"You're not going to eat me, right?" Ruby couldn't help but ask. The Rogue Titan aimed his eyes at her from the corner. He shook his head. Ruby released a deep exhale, something short of a sigh of relief, which made her realise she had been holding her breath. Her attention was the directed toward the headless and decaying dead Titan upon seeing that the Rogue one was pointing down at it, as if he was proud that he had killed it. "So, you're only killing the Titans?"

He nodded his head, and Ruby swore she could see a glint of excitement in his eyes. Ruby, in turn, grinned back at him. She unclipped Crescent Rose and let the weapon unfold in her left hand, before securing a fixed grip on a clump of the Titan's hair.

"Time for a rampage."


	5. Chapter 5 – Charge Toward the Garrison!

**{1.} I don't know what will happen with the ships that I incorporate into this story. I honestly don't know what to do with them. But, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to tell me via review or PM. If I use your ideas at some point in this story, I will make sure to credit you for it. Even if you don't want to be credited, I will still give you at least a shoutout as a 'thank-you'.**

 **{2.} I will add some parts where Team RWBY are actually teaching the Scouts – specifically the Levi Squad and the recruits – about Aura, Semblance, Dust, and some other things about Remnant in general.**

 **{3.} Team RWBY will take part in the mission to retake Trost.**

* * *

 **Mikasa Ackerman  
**

* * *

Mikasa launched her wires forward, the hooks on the ends of them piercing the walls of a building as she propelled herself forward with her gas. She glided through the air, reaching speeds that rivalled Weiss'. It almost seemed as if the two girls were in a competition of sorts. Mikasa slashed the nape of a Titan that blocked her path, producing two clean cuts with her blades. It didn't slow her down.

"Hurry up! Follow Mikasa!" Jean commanded the other recruits. Mikasa paid no mind: she continued to soar through the air as if she was a hawk searching for its prey. As much as she wanted to believe that she could fly, though, her gear was the only thing that got her remotely close to taking to the air like a bird. Another shout from Jean was what broke her out of those thoughts: "Avoid fighting if you can! And get to HQ before you run out of gas!"

Mikasa advanced with incredible speed. As she proceeded onward, she felt as if she wasn't in fact getting closer to the Garrison at all. In the distance, Mikasa could vaguely make out a yellow blur and spots of flames that appeared to be causing a few Titans to drop. Mikasa remembered the other girl that had accompanied Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Eren at the Garrison that morning. _'That must be Yang,'_ she presumed. Though it mattered not who the girls were, what they wanted, or if they would survive.

Nothing mattered to her anymore.

Eren was gone as soon as he had been eaten, regardless of whether he had been alive after the fact. Ruby had gone on a wild goose chase to find whatever had killed the Titan that ate him. Mikasa had lost any reason to keep on living. It was just as well, Mikasa could tell that Weiss and Blake were almost as grief-stricken at Eren's fate as Mikasa had been. Yet, Weiss and Blake were much more determined to save everyone than Mikasa was.

Mikasa didn't care if the Titans broke through Wall Rose.

Mikasa didn't care if anyone else was to die today.

Mikasa didn't care if the world became Hell.

"Looks like we underestimated her!" Weiss shouted, bouncing off another glyph and sprinting along the rooftops. Mikasa heard the sound of something being sliced, and when she turned to look over her shoulders, Mikasa witnessed a Titan – no taller than ten meters – collapsing against the rooftop that Weiss was sprinting across. It had its weak spot carved out and was decaying fast. Mikasa assumed Weiss had killed it.

"Whoa! Both Weiss and Blake are badasses!" Connie commented as he and the others watched Blake tear another Titan's head off with only the ribbon of her weapon. Weiss carved out the rest of its weak spot with her rapier.

Mikasa smoothly swerved around the corner of a building, withdrawing her wires and launching them forward again. A Titan was in the center of the street she was travelling through. Acting quickly, Mikasa propelled herself forward, leaving the others in the dust. Just as she was about to go for the Titan, a shadow obscured her sight, and the next thing she knew, Blake was carving out the weak spot of the Titan.

Mikasa gritted her teeth, narrowly avoiding a collision with Blake. She twirled through the air beside the girl, Mikasa's blades barely missing Blake's bow. In one swift movement, Mikasa turned another corner and retracted her wires to settle herself, before firing them forward again as her gas kept her high in the air. Her knees were bent, and her arms and feet were positioned behind her.

Then, her gear hissed, sputtered, and died.

She was out of gas.

Mikasa drew her wires back in and she began to fall out of the air, twirling in an arc as she plummeted to the streets below.

Mikasa gasped in shock. She heard Weiss and Blake do the same. Whilst Mikasa fell, she felt someone catch her. However, her rough landing snapped her back to the situation she had put herself in, instead of the person that had attempted to save her. They rolled down the parapet and landed in a deserted two-way street.

"MIKASA!" she heard Armin yell, and the sound of wires being fired immediately followed.

"BLAKE!" Weiss screamed after Armin.

"Damnit!" Jean shouted after Weiss.

"Jean! You lead the rest to HQ! I'm going after Armin and Weiss!" Connie exclaimed next.

"I'll go with you—!" Jean said.

"Don't be stupid! There are still Titans everywhere! You've gotta help the others!"

* * *

Mikasa and Blake had both crash-landed in a deserted street, laying in a heap on the cold stone ground. Blake had been as kind as to cushion Mikasa's landing, likely with the hope that Mikasa wouldn't have hurt herself upon impact. Blake lightly placed her hands around Mikasa's shoulders and gently lifted Mikasa off of her.

It was then that Mikasa realised her blades were broken; only a fragment of one of the blades was left in her holder. She had lost her other blade during the tumble.

"Are you alright?" Blake grunted as she sat up. Her hand clutched the fabric just under her chest, as if she had winded herself when she cushioned Mikasa's fall. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"What does it matter?" Mikasa stated hopelessly, letting the light glint off of her broken blade. "It happened again. I've lost my family."

"Mikasa..." Blake muttered, lowering her head. She paused, softly planting one of her hands on top of Mikasa's left hand. "I'm sorry."

Mikasa knelt beside Blake, sliding her last blade back into the slot of one of the metal boxes. She was ready to die. She'd given up. No more did she want to go on. She did not want to keep on living in this cruel, hellish world, if Eren was not in it with her.

"Why? Wasn't the first time enough?" Mikasa questioned herself aloud as she stared at the ground with dilated eyes. "Why am I going through this again? I have nothing. There's nothing else for them to take from me."

"Don't say that." Blake's hands balled into fists on her lap. "When you arrived on the rooftop back there, I could see the hope you gave those cadets just by being there with them. Even if you don't have any hope left after hearing about Eren, you being alive still gives hope to the people around you. You still have your life. Don't throw it away just because you can't spend it with someone else."

Blake and Mikasa shared eye contact for a moment, with Mikasa's eyes widened and Blake's brows furrowed, her body tense. But the moment was cut short when both girls heard a Titan approaching. It stomped towards Mikasa and Blake, no doubt aiming to eat one or both of the girls alive. It came from the right-hand side of them, and was getting closer by the second. Blake's hand searched the ground around them, her fingers grazing the trigger of her weapon.

"Good, I still have my weapon with me. Now where's my sheath?" she hastily questioned, muttering to herself. She gritted her teeth, before her hands came into contact with Mikasa's sides. "I must've dropped it during the fall. We need to get out of here. Come on." Blake pulled Mikasa to her feet.

As Blake held her, Mikasa felt a sudden feeling strike the cells in her body. Like they were telling her to not give up. Like they wanted her body to fight back, even after she had already dropped out of the fight. The familiar feeling struck again, and once more after that.

The Titan's hand came closer to Mikasa and Blake. The hand barely made contact with Mikasa as her body automatically began to fight back, slicing the Titan's fingers clean off with her broken blade. The feeling struck a fourth time. Blake pulled Mikasa into her and jumped back to dodge the Titan's palm that belted down on them. Mikasa was unaware of what happened next, but she and Blake had ended up a few feet away from where they originally were, and a shadow of them both disappeared as soon as she saw it. Blake tightened her hold around Mikasa's abdomen, tugging the girl closer to her.

The Titan raised its arm again, smacking its hand down on the concrete where Blake and Mikasa were positioned. They both flew back into the wall at the impact of its indirect attack. Yet they had no time to recover from it: the Titan's hand accelerated towards them again, as if it were trying to swat a fly or two.

 _'Why?'_

Its hand crashed into the wall just as Blake let out a battlecry and tossed Mikasa away with a heavy heave. The hand slammed into Blake and sent the girl flying, creating debris as a result of the powerful strike. Mikasa was left tumbling backwards, rolling a few times before skidding on the ground. Her skidding came to an abrupt end when Blake's foot came into contact with the side of Mikasa's abdomen.

Mikasa coughed as Blake helped to lift her up. She propped herself up, settling into a kneeling position. Aiming a blank stare at the ground, Mikasa contemplated why she still felt the need to fight, despite the fact that she had already given up. She wondered why Blake was so determined to fight to protect her, too.

"Why are you helping me?" Mikasa inquired when Blake stepped around her. Blake stood in front of Mikasa, holding nothing more than her katana in one of her hands, and with her aim on the Titan. The Titan, now a good few feet away from the two girls, attempted to pick itself up off of the ground. It failed to stand and collapsed again. Its fall created a crater, accompanied by a loud crash and more ruckus. "I've already given up. At this point, I'd be a hindrance to you. So why do you continue to fight in order to protect me?"

"Because that's what huntresses do," Blake replied, her voice full of sincerity. She glanced at Mikasa over her shoulder, a gentle expression coating her features while a small ray of sunlight shone down on her. "Ruby, Weiss, and Yang... if they were in my place, they'd do the same. Especially Ruby."

Mikasa unsteadily rose to her feet, her attention on the cloudy sky that was beginning to clear. Sunlight seeped through, bringing light to everything around her. But suddenly, the Titan came into view. Its head blocked the sunlight that shone down on them. Mikasa and Blake started backing away from the giant, fully aware that it was ready to take another swing at them if and when it was given the chance.

Mikasa and Blake turned their heads, only to find another Titan appearing around the corner of the street behind them. Mikasa backed up into Blake, who was busy staring at the new Titan that had appeared. Or rather, _who_ was accompanying it.

"Ruby?!"

"Sorry if we're late!" Ruby waved with a cheerful grin. She was standing on the Titan's shoulder, her scythe extended and held in her left hand, whilst she kept her hand secured on her Titan friend's shaggy brown hair. "Then again, I suppose I don't have to. Isn't the hero always fashionably late?"

"What are you doing on that Titan?" Blake asked, stepping beside Mikasa. "Is this another one of your insane ideas?"

"Kind of! I'm helping him!" Ruby pointed towards the face of the Titan she was riding on the shoulder of. "Or... he's helping me. We're helping each other! I call him the Rogue Titan." she told them. Ruby's eyes then met the eyes of the 'Rogue Titan, as she called him. "I suppose you're not gonna let me have this one, are you?"

She pointed toward the pot-bellied Titan, which was advancing closer to Blake and Mikasa. The Rogue Titan looked at Ruby and shook his head. Ruby sighed, but returned the action with a smile.

"Alright then," Ruby rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Now, after that Titan!"

"We have to get back!" Blake exclaimed as she clasped Mikasa's hand in her own. Pulling Mikasa along with her, Blake sprinted towards the Rogue Titan.

Both girls tripped over when he slammed his foot down, creating a crater under his foot and shaking the ground immensely. He swung his arm and punched the other Titan in the face, knocking it backwards with great force. It landed on its back, skidding through the ground. The Titan eventually came to a stop several feet away from Mikasa and Blake.

Mikasa landed on her stomach after rolling across the ground. Blake crawled over to Mikasa and lifted her up.

"What was that...?" Mikasa asked absent-mindedly. She was snapped back to reality by the Titan in front of them, and it was then that Mikasa and Blake got a clear view of him.

The Titan's shaggy brown hair barely reached his shoulders, and he had piercing teal-green eyes to go with it. His body appeared to be well-proportioned and physically fit, which was quite the surprise, since the majority of Titans were oddly shaped – either being emaciated or pot-bellied. He also had a skinless jaw, so his teeth were easily visible. If Mikasa were to guess, she'd say his mouth wasn't suited for intelligible speech, though his ear-piercing roar and his actions was proof that he was still fully capable of expressing himself.

This _definitely_ wasn't a normal Titan, and Mikasa highly doubted that it was an Abnormal, either. An Abnormal only acted differently than normal Titans in the form of enhanced speed or strength, as far as Mikasa herself knew. Even an Abnormal Titan wouldn't blatantly attack its own kind.

After Mikasa lifted herself up and onto her knees, she covered her ears and lowered her head, trying to block out the sound of his roar. He charged towards the other Titan just as Mikasa raised her head again. She was left frozen in shock at the scene unravelling before her eyes.

"That Titan... he's... killing the other one...!" Mikasa pointed out.

"Whoa..." was all that came out of Blake's mouth. _  
_  
The Rogue Titan stomped swiftly and strongly on the neck of the incapacitated Titan that laid on the ground. Its head had been dismembered from the rest of its body. After three more times, he ceased crushing the Titan's weak spot, knowing that it was finally dead.

The Rogue Titan then raised his head. For what reason, neither Mikasa nor Blake knew.

Mikasa's hands dropped down by her sides, stunned at what she'd just witnessed. A Titan attacking another Titan was unheard of, but a Titan _killing_ another Titan?

It was unbelievable. Had she not witnessed it herself, it would have even sounded crazy.

Mikasa didn't receive the opportunity to dwell on the matter, though, as she and Blake were suddenly swooped up by Armin. Armin seemed to be having trouble carrying the both of them, however, and he dropped them when they landed on the canopy.

"Mikasa, Blake! Are you two okay?" Armin urgently inquired. But neither Blake nor Mikasa got the chance to answer that question, as Weiss and Connie then landed beside them.

"Are you guys alright?" Connie asked hastily.

"Just recovering," Blake breathed out with a few coughs, nodding her head in response.

After they all rose to their feet, Weiss approached Blake. She held Blake's sheath in her hand. "You dropped this during your tumble."

"Thanks. I was looking for it earlier." Blake wrapped her fingers around the handle of the sheath. "Find it on the rooftops?"

"Stuck in the tiles."

"We better get out of here." Connie interrupted them. His face showed a mixture of shock and fear when another Titan appeared, coming out from behind the wall of a house. The Rogue Titan was standing opposite from it, accompanied by Ruby, who was now hopping up onto his head. "Crap! Two 15-metre Titans!"

"No; that one's different." Mikasa pointed out as she gazed at the Rogue Titan. With a quirk of her index finger, she directed their focus to Ruby. Ruby herself appeared to be getting into a fighting stance, holding her scythe with both hands. The gun-barrel of the scythe was aimed behind her.

To the right of her, Armin stared down at the skeleton corpse of the Titan that the Rogue one had killed.

The Rogue Titan suddenly let out a roar, and the other Titan he was facing roared in response. Mikasa stepped forward when she saw Ruby slip and lose her balance on the Rogue Titan's head. Fortunately, Ruby managed to hold on by grabbing a clump of his hair and letting her scythe fold away onto the back of her belt. She climbed back up onto his head with little difficulty, and Mikasa breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The Rogue Titan raised his fists, steadying himself into a stance used commonly for hand-to-hand combat. The other Titan roared again, before charging at the Rogue Titan. However, the Titan ended up decapitated when the Rogue Titan swung his fist at its head, sending its head flying into an observation tower.

Mikasa's, Armin's, and Connie's jaws all dropped when the dismembered head shattered the windows upon impact with the tower. Weiss and Blake covered their ears.

The headless body of the other Titan fell to the ground, though it attempted to hoist itself up with its hands. The Rogue Titan raised his foot and brought it down on the Titan's neck, simply finishing it off. Again, he was the only Titan left standing. He raised his arm and examined his missing hand, which was already reforming itself.

"Aw, man! You couldn't have let me have that one?" Mikasa could hear Ruby whine. The Titan shook his head, prompting Ruby to hop down onto his shoulder. "You and I are going to have a talk about this." Ruby vowed. "I do not like being a useless sidekick."

"It... it just finished it off! It knew exactly where the weak spot was!" Armin exclaimed, more in awe than anything else.

"Come on guys, time to split!" Connie directed, his brows furrowed as Mikasa noticed him spinning on his heel. "Last thing we need is him coming our way!"

"No. He has no reaction towards us. Any other Titan would've been on top of us by now." Armin pointed out, staring at the Rogue Titan and Ruby with widened eyes. "And the way he and Ruby interact... more than anything, he seems friendly towards humans."

"It also seemed to understand the skill of hand-to-hand combat. What _is_ that thing?" Mikasa asked, arching a brow as she pursed her lips. This was what they would call an 'Abnormal', but this Titan's behaviour was nothing like the Abnormals Mikasa had seen, heard of, and encountered. He understood the skill of hand-to-hand combat, and even had enough intelligence to know how to use it, and he used it skilfully and effectively. Was he a new breed of Titan, like the Colossal Titan, and even the Armoured one? Or was he some type of Abnormal that hadn't yet featured in any documents or reports regarding the Titans?

If that was the case, they could be witnesses to a historic event.

"Just chalk it up as another Abnormal. Hell, they're always an unpleasant surprise, right?" Connie told them.

"I don't know," Weiss sighed and shared a glance with Mikasa. "I'm guessing you've never heard of a friendly Titan that kills other Titans?"

"No, we haven't. Most Abnormals only behave abnormally compared to the normal ones we face. Abnormal Titans usually have superior speed or strength compared to normal Titans. Though, it is rare when an Abnormal shows any sign of intelligence beyond knowing how to lunge and bite." Armin explained in Mikasa's stead. Mikasa could see Armin's eyes heavily trained on the Rogue Titan, who was slowly walking away as Ruby ranted to him about _"treating her like a sidekick while he gets the glory for the kill"_. Mikasa couldn't help but softly chuckle at the sight. "But no one has ever heard of a Titan attacking its own kind, Abnormal or otherwise." Armin carried on, causing Mikasa to turn her head in his direction. "Not to mention that it has no reaction towards us. Abnormals may be strange, but they are just as focused on the extermination of us humans as any other Titan. With the five of us over here, there was no reason for it to simply ignore us. Ruby wouldn't even be on his shoulder if he wanted to kill her."

"How did she find him, anyway?" Blake finally asked, crossing her arms under her chest and leaning slightly to her right-hand side.

"I'm going to take an educated guess here and say that she found him while looking for whatever killed the Titan that ate Eren." Weiss answered with a shrug, her hands on her hips. "Speaking of which, she doesn't seem to be unhappy about not finding whatever had done that. I'd assumed she was going to be depressed when she didn't get anywhere with her search."

"It's entirely possible that the Titan distracted her." Armin suggested, looking over his shoulder at Weiss.

"I wouldn't put it past Ruby to forget about something like that." Weiss remarked, surprisingly curt. "Well, I guess it works out. If something other than a soldier killed the Titan that ate Eren, Ruby's found something that does the same job."

"There's always the possibility that the Rogue Titan, as Ruby calls it, could be what caused that Titan's death." Blake proposed with a shrug of her shoulders. "In any case, we should be going. We can let him go on his rampage with Ruby. If they're fighting the Titans for us, that means we don't have to waste more of our supplies in order to fight them ourselves."

"She's right. Let's just get outta here." Connie ushered everyone. He was about to walk away, until Armin stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait a minute, hold on! Mikasa's tanks are empty!" Armin pointed out, the notion causing Mikasa to lower her head in shame. Weiss released a deep sigh, while Blake scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"Huh?! What're we gonna do? We can't clear HQ without your help!" Connie asked.

"There's only one thing _to_ do." Armin kneeled down and started to take out his gas canisters. Mikasa's eyes widened when she realised what Armin was doing. "I know there isn't very much left in them, but it's better than your empty ones."

"Armin!" Mikasa objected.

"This is our only choice!" Armin snapped back. He spoke up again a second later, this time in a softer tone: "It would be a complete waste if I kept it." Armin removed Mikasa's canisters as well. Turning the valve on one gas canister, Armin proceeded to swap Mikasa's empty canisters for his own, which had just barely enough gas in them to get to HQ. "But... use this gas more sparingly. Everyone's lives are riding on you." Armin added as a reminder, grabbing the blades he carried in the metal boxes. He lifted his blades out, and planted them in the slots in Mikasa's metal boxes.

Mikasa's mouth hung open when it dawned on her. She'd been so... defeated, and was so grief-stricken over losing Eren, that she had forgotten what she had led the others into.

 _'What have I done? I led the attack without any regard for their lives at all. I was even reckless enough with mine and Blake's own lives. I lost track of what you taught me...'_ Mikasa lowered her head with regret. _'Oh, Eren... I'm so ashamed... Eren...'_

Mikasa shamefully glanced back at Blake, who returned Mikasa's look with an expression of understanding. Blake put her weapon away and caught Mikasa in a hug. "Don't worry about it. It's not the first time I've been in danger. Just promise me that you'll be less reckless from now on."

"I promise. I'll never disregard our lives again." Mikasa clenched the back of Blake's cut-down tuxedo and scrunched it up as her hands balled into fists. Her gear hissed afterwards, interrupting the moment.

"There. Got it. Your ODM Gear's functional, and I've restocked your blades." Armin said while Mikasa pulled away from Blake. She was confused to see Armin still sat there, holding onto the broken blade, a bitter reminder of when Mikasa had fallen. "Just... just leave me this one, okay...? It's just that... I'd rather this be my end and not be eaten alive."

Weiss took the blade out of Armin's hand and threw it away, letting it fall into the street below. Armin stared up at her, horrified, while Weiss slithered her arms under his arms and legs, sweeping him off the tiles.

"Why'd you...?"

"You risked your own life to save mine. I'm sure saving you is the least I can do to repay you for your effort to try and be my hero." Weiss said with her head lowered as she pulled the boy closer. Weiss then planted her hand on Armin's shoulder and rubbed it, likely in an attempt to comfort him, staring squarely into his eyes. "And believe it or not, you have potential. I can tell just from the way you talk that you're the strategist type. I'm sure you've saved a few people with that brain of yours." Weiss averted her eyes for a split second. "And you're a nice person."

"That is the longest compliment I've ever witnessed you give." Blake commented, her tone deadpan.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss retorted loudly. Her pale face turned bright red with embarrassment, if Mikasa were to guess.

Mikasa relished in the humorous moment. Her lips curled up into a smile while she silently giggled. Armin covered his face with his hands, trying to hide the bright pink luminescence of his face. Apparently receiving a compliment from Weiss had caused him to get flustered.

"Alright, come on." Connie finally spoke up with a chuckle. "Let's get moving. You alright to carry him?"

Weiss nodded her head, muttering something about hoping Armin got to stay in a study afterwards instead of on the battlefield. Mikasa turned in the direction of the Garrison. Her eyes were trained on the Titans swarming HQ, which were advancing towards the main tower at an alarming rate. What was Yang doing?

 _'What was he? Are there any more like him? I've never heard of a Titan killing another Titan. No one has. But it struck a chord in me; something so... familiar. So... primal.'_ Mikasa inwardly thought, her mental voice coming to one final conclusion. _'Blake, Ruby, and I bore witness to the manifestation of humanity's rage.'  
_  
"But—I mean—Titans are everywhere... you can't jump and carry me in your arms!" Armin protested. His flustered demeanour from earlier was gone, and his face had returned to its usual colour. Despite his uncomfortable shuffling and protesting, Weiss was carrying Armin with surprising ease. For someone so small and with dried blood on her forehead, she'd assumed Weiss' body would be weakened slightly.

"You're underestimating me. As long as we don't come across too many Titans, and I don't have to fight them, we'll be okay." Weiss confidently answered with a nod of her head.

"Come on, let's move!" Connie set off in a sprint towards the edge of the rooftop.

Weiss spun on her heel and began to make haste alongside Connie, and she kept good pace with Connie even though she was carrying Armin, the blond being taller and likely heavier than Weiss herself. Mikasa and Blake ran along in front of Weiss. While Mikasa ran alongside Blake, she glanced at the yellow-eyed girl and wondered: what was that shadow of them both back in the alleyway, when the now dead pot-bellied Titan had attacked them? Did Blake make that shadow? How?

The Rogue Titan behind them roared again, and Mikasa could only presume that he and Ruby were engaging in a fight with another Titan. Either that, or he and Ruby were getting into an argument. Mikasa hoped that it wasn't the latter, but she couldn't help the urge to want to watch the argument go down if it was.

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks when Armin suddenly gripped the collar of her jacket: "Hold on! I've got an idea!"

Mikasa, Blake, and Connie all spun around simultaneously, also grinding to a halt. The three of them looked back at Weiss, who now stood a few feet away, and watched as Armin released his hold on Weiss' collar.

"What is it then?" Connie abruptly asked, sounding impatient. Mikasa couldn't blame him. Time was of the essence here. But, if Armin had an idea, she was willing to use the valuable time to listen to whatever he had to say. His ideas had been life-saving once before, and they could do the same now.

"Only you three are capable of pulling this off, so it's really your choice." Armin sat up in Weiss' arms, with the somewhat short girl holding him up a bit to steady him. Mikasa knew that Weiss wouldn't be able to do much of anything if she was carrying Armin, so it made sense that Armin was directing his proposal at Blake, Connie, and Mikasa herself. "This may sound crazy, but I think he might be useful." Armin declared as he glanced over Weiss' shoulder at the Rogue Titan and Ruby. While Blake folded her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, appearing to consider Armin's idea, Mikasa and Connie simply stared at the blond, dumbstruck.

"Whoa, you mean the Titan?" Connie was the first one to respond, leaning forward slightly.

"He only attacks his own kind. He seems to have no interest in us. What if we can somehow steer him to HQ and let him loose on the other Titans?" Armin asked, turning his head toward Blake. "After all, it doesn't seem like Yang's getting anywhere with it, to be honest."

"I'm on board with that, if it's to help Yang." Blake stated with a nod. When Mikasa looked back at Blake, she saw a sense of worry in the girl's yellow eyes.

"You've got to be kidding! How the hell d'you think we're supposed to steer that thing?" Connie questioned, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"Something tells me he's fighting on instinct. Look, we know he's taken at least one out already. I'm almost sure if you take down the pair he and Ruby are tangling with now, he'll go look for others. That'd lead them straight to HQ. We're not steering him so much as luring him. I think it'll work, I really do." Armin explained, sounding more desperate with every word that came out of his mouth.

"Think?! You're asking us to risk our necks based on a stupid gut feeling?!" Connie objected.

"If I'm right about this, we can take down the siege on Headquarters in one fell swoop!" Armin argued. Connie's eyes widened, and he stared off into space for a moment.

"Not to mention, Ruby's able to communicate with him, even though he can't speak intelligibly." Blake pointed out, tapping her index finger on her chin. "It would be easier to let Ruby in on this plan if she hasn't thought of this same idea already. That way, she would be able to steer him to HQ once we've lured him."

"It's worth a shot." Mikasa accepted the facts: the idea was much too promising, and Armin's gut feeling was hardly ever wrong. Plus, involving Ruby would better their chances of success, since she was the Titan's partner in crime.

"Huh?! Seriously?!" Connie responded, utterly in shock. He turned to Mikasa and Blake with an incredulous expression.

"Better to take a gamble on Armin's gut feeling than wait around to be slaughtered." Mikasa stated, and Blake nodded in agreement. Connie seemed to realize that he was outnumbered in this matter. "If there's a decent shot, why not take it?" Mikasa rhetorically asked Connie, meeting his gaze.

"So basically we're gonna recruit a Titan?" Connie reaffirmed with a raised brow.

"Yes. Exactly."

Connie spared a second to contemplate the idea. And after a second or two, he flashed a smile at Armin: "We'll look like morons if we screw this up."

Armin smiled back. "Yeah. But, if we don't, look at how many lives we stand to save."

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

"Then let's get going!"

* * *

 **Jean Kirschtein**

* * *

There were Titans all around the area. The stomping sounds that their feet made was too loud, and too close for comfort. Jean had stopped on the roof of a building, stationed on the ridge of it.

"It's no use; we're not getting anywhere near Headquarters." Jean complained, keeping his voice low enough so that no-one could hear him aside from himself. "Unless, of course, if we don't mind dying." he bitterly told himself as he glanced down the side of the building. Below him was a Titan that was attempting to climb up the building, staring at Jean as if he was a scrumptious meal on a plate.

The loud, terrified gasps of a soldier that was stranded on the streets below captured Jean's attention. Jean's shoulders hunched when he saw the horrible sight of the soldier instantly turning in the other direction and trying to stand his ground against a few Titans that were coming his way.

"S-Stay back!" he managed to stutter in fear. The slot of his ODM Gear, on the back of his hip, spluttered out gas that was immediately lost to the wind.

 _'Shit, he's out of gas!'_

Jean knew that the guy's gas supply had been drained, leaving him helpless on the streets. Without his gas to use, he was definitely going to die down there.

As if from out of nowhere, another soldier zipped past Jean and straight into the Titan trap in the street.

"TOM! I'll save you!"

"No, wait!" Jean shouted after him, raising his hand in a futile attempt to stop the soldier.

Another woman flew past Jean as well, going in after Tom's friend. "I'm coming!"

One of the Titans had picked Tom up and was holding him in front of its face. Tom was shaking his head as he cried, tears and snot both streaming down his face, making for an ugly sight when combined with the indescribable amount of fear in his eyes. Though, Jean knew it couldn't be helped.

"STOP IT!" his friend yelled at the Titans as he charged forward, ready to save Tom. Unfortunately for him, another Titan had grabbed him by the waist, squeezing the life out of him until his body slumped. The blood from his body trickled down his legs and onto some of the Titan's fingers. The sight horrified Jean.

Tom then began to scream as the Titan's jaws opened, until he was silenced when the Titan's teeth closed on him. The Titan dropped what remained of Tom's corpse and turned around to gather with the rest of the Titans, which were holding the woman that had gone in after Tom's friend. She was being held by her arms in front of the Titans, tears running down her cheeks as her teeth chattered in fear. She screamed a few times, each scream louder than the last.

Jean couldn't move. The only thing he could do in that moment was watch as she was eaten alive; chewed down upon until there was only a small part of her body left.

She was dead. And he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it from happening.

But at that moment he knew what to do.

This was the perfect opportunity.

"Let's go! Make a break for HQ while they're distracted!" Jean commanded everyone while he leapt off of the ridge and onto the lower part of the canopy. He sprinted along the tiles as he led the way around the Titans, steering clear of what would have been certain death. He heard Marco following close behind him, and then everyone else's footfalls could be heard behind Marco. _'_ _We can do this!'_ Jean mentally told himself, as if that would help motivate him. _'Hey, if we run out of gas, we're dead anyway.'_ he inwardly remarked as he tried to keep his realist nature. "Give it everything you've got!" Jean then shouted at the rest of the group, leaping from the roof and firing his wires into a building. He avoided the Titans that aimed to catch him until one Titan grabbed his leg.

He sliced off the Titan's index finger to free himself, before propelling himself further though the air with his gas. He landed on the canopy of a roof, with Marco landing next to him.

"Jean!" Marco called out to him. "You really came through for us there, man! We owe you big time!" he said.

"Huh?" Jean was confused, but he didn't think anything of it. He just shrugged it off and dismissed Marco's thanks.

"Don't shrug it off; I'm serious. We're alive because of you. Like I said, you make a great leader!"

Jean grinned. "Easy with that crap! We're not out of this yet!" he advised, launching himself off of the tiles and through the air, Marco and the others in tow. They managed to evade the large hands of the Titans that tried to swat them out of the sky, but one recruit far behind them wasn't so lucky. As the recruit flew through the air, a Titan's hand caught him and held his body up to the sky, almost as if he was some sort of prize.

Jean heard the recruit's screams as the Titan held him. He spared a glance at the cadet, before turning back to the Garrison.

"Damnit!"

Jean carried on towards HQ, trying not to let the unlucky recruit distract him from leading the others to the Garrison.

But suddenly, an ear-piercing battlecry came from below.

" **DIE!** "

A yellow flash exploded to the right of them, causing a Titan to screech in pain. As fast as that happened, the Titan fell forward on the ground, its corpse beginning to decay while steam arose from the dead body. Then, a female figure with beautiful and long golden hair flowing behind her broke in through the window. But what took Jean by surprise the most was that her hair appeared to be producing flames, and she'd left behind a trail of embers as she'd entered through the window. However, as pretty as the sight was, the embers quickly dissipated into thin air.

Jean raised his feet up in front of him as he prepared to kick in the window that he was approaching. He smashed through the window, with pieces of shattered glass littering the floor as he entered. He rolled ungraciously on the floor before coming to a stop next to some tables and desks that were set up to form some sort of barricade. As Jean lifted himself up, the rest of the surviving recruits all crashed through the rest of the windows.

 _'How... how many of us made it?'_ Jean placed his palm to his face, revelling in his thoughts. The after-thoughts were just now setting in, it seemed. _'How many bodies did I crawl over? How many of our comrades died on my orders?'_

Then, out of his peripheral, Jean saw two soldiers hiding under the desk next to him. The girl with the long blonde hair that had gone in just before Jean was laying on the floor, obviously exhausted and covered in blood and saliva, a lot of it being in her hair and from her chest and shoulder blades down to her boots. She collapsed on her back, only to have the two soldiers come out from hiding and crawl over to her. Two more soldiers climbed out from under the desk on the other side of the makeshift barricade.

"Yang, are you alright?"

"You must be pretty exhausted after all that fighting!"

"Will you be okay or do you need to rest?"

"How can you endure that much fighting for so long?"

"Do you need something to eat or drink? We could get you something after we get to safety."

"And what's with all this blood and saliva on you? What happened to you out there?"

"Hold on a sec... you guys are with the supply team...?" Jean asked, though received no answer. His attention then turned to Yang, the girl laying on the floor. She was panting from fatigue, and probably stress too. Jean was also concerned that the blood on her wasn't evaporating, meaning it was human blood, and the more curious part of him wanted to ask how she ended up with that much human blood all over her. Marco approached Jean as he stood up.

"I..." Yang's hoarse voice interrupted the deafening silence. She coughed once, and then twice more, before patting her chest. "Well... to put it simply, I was swallowed whole. Literally—" Yang coughed, some unidentifiable liquid spluttering out of her mouth—"literally punched my way out of a Titan's stomach. The smell and blood is probably from all of the stomach acid and the corpses in its digestive track."

"I don't think Titans have a digestive track, so they won't have stomach acid. Corpses stay in a Titan's stomach until it decides it's had enough food and throws up whoever its eaten." one of the female soldiers informed her, assisting in taking off her brown jacket, revealing her low-cut crop top and the fact that she was sweating profusely. Most of the blood hadn't gone under the jacket, though, meaning most of her torso from the chest down was clean.

"Oh, they don't?" Yang coughed and clutched her stomach, and some sort of vomit acid emptied out of her mouth after she threw her upper body forward. "Well—" Yang collapsed and her back hit the floor with her hair spread out on the carpet—"at least now you know why I'm exhausted, covered in saliva and blood, and smell like a bad combination of some of the worst stenches in the world. Do you also have anything for this vomiting and sweating?"

"I'm sure we can find something for you, Yang." Marco approached Yang, tugging Jean along with him. "You're probably ill from what you witnessed in that Titan's stomach. It's not surprising, it happens more than any of us would rather admit. I'm sure you'll recover soon."

"Marco's right. A lot of us get ill at least once from the hell we've seen and experienced. Why don't you go and get washed off? I'm sure there'll be a washroom on this floor of the Garrison you can use." Reiner suggested somewhat happily, disregarding the smell surrounding Yang as he also approached her and stuck his hand out.

"Good idea." Yang grabbed Reiner's hand and allowed him to pull her up to her feet. "Are there any of you guys who don't mind the smell that would be happy to show me where the washroom is?"

"I can take you to it." Annie stepped forward, standing beside Reiner.

"Great." Yang tried to smile as cheerfully as possible, nodding her head at Annie in the process. With a grunt, she began stretching, but had coughing fits every few seconds or so. Jean could hear the faint cracking of a couple of joints in her back, shoulders, and legs. When she was done, she gathered her blood-stained jacket from one of the other soldiers and treaded over to the doorway that led out into the corridor, before looking back at Annie. "I don't mean to sound needy, but could I get some towels too, or just some temporary clothes you have available? I think my own clothes are gonna need to be cleaned to get rid of the smell and blood."

"I'm sure we'll find something to suit your need." Annie responded as she joined up with Yang. Yang nodded her head at Annie as the smaller girl helped Yang stand when her balance wavered in the doorway. They both left the room afterward, with Annie closing the door behind them.

Just after they left, a loud rumble suddenly came from behind the wall on the other side of the room. Not even a second later, a part of the wall had been destroyed by two Titans, who reared their ugly faces into the large hole that had been created.

"Son of a... there's too many people." Jean muttered to himself. "They can smell us."

The recruits all flooded through the doors at the opposite end of the room, attempting to flee the scene as they left Jean there, alone and frozen in terror.

"RUN!"

"They're in!"

"What about Mikasa?! Have you seen her?!"

"She ran out of gas! Forget about her! She's dead!"

 _'This is it. This... is reality.'_ Jean was lost in his thoughts as the screams and shouts of the recruits dulled in his ears. The Titans stared at him, while Jean stared back. _'Of course it is. How denoted was I? No; no, on some level, I knew it all along. I mean, when you stop and think for a second, it's obvious. There's... there's no winning. Not against them.'_

Jean could only watch on as a giant fist came into view and struck the jaw of one of the Titans. The moment seemed to happen in slow motion. Jean returned to his senses in a snap and put his foot forward.

"WHAT—?!"

The two Titans were then punched out of view, both landing several feet away as the head of another Titan appeared in front of the hole in the wall, seeming to be the owner of the massive fist. It let out a defiant roar, its eyes showing confidence, combined with hatred.

"I call dibs on them this time!" a high-pitched voice shouted gleefully. Not even one second later, a familiar girl with a distinctive red cloak landed on the shoulder of the Titan that had just socked the other two, carrying a large scythe in hand. She bounced off immediately after, leaving only a trail of red rose petals. The Titan produced a surprisingly sad and mellow roar in response.

"What the...? My god..." Jean breathed, at a complete loss for words.

As if to make his mind spin further, Mikasa smashed through a window, closely followed by Connie, Blake, and Weiss, who was carrying Armin in her arms bridal-style. Blake, Mikasa, and Connie landed roughly on the floor, while Weiss skidded a few yards away from where she'd originally landed, with Armin desperately gripping the collar of her jacket for safety. Eventually, she stopped skidding and managed to stabilise her stance, before lowering Armin down to let him stand on his own two feet.

"Mikasa! Blake! You're..." Jean began to say, too shocked to speak or form a sentence.

"Wow, close one! I was running on fumes!" Connie exclaimed, lightly hitting one of his presumably empty gas canisters as he stood up. "We made it here though! Crazy, but we did!"

Jean stepped forward, towards Mikasa and Blake. "You—I—Am I dreaming this or what...?"

Connie approached Armin and roughly patted the boy on the back, grinning with delight all the while. "You're a certified genius! From now on, as far as I'm concerned, your word is law!" Connie raised his head, looking up at Jean, Blake, Weiss, and Mikasa, and all of the other soldiers that had came back into the room to see what was going on. "Check it out! We found an Abnormal that's got a bone to pick with its own kind! And the best part, he couldn't care less about us!" Connie pointed at the Titan outside. Even the recruits that had tried to escape earlier had stopped and flooded back into the room, intent on listening to the conversation. The Titan aimed a deathly glare at something out of view, before proceeding to walk out of sight. "You heard me! This big beautiful S.O.B is our ticket outta here!"

"You mean like fighting fire with fire?"

"Listen to yourself; a Titan's not gonna help us!" Jean instantly objected, his realist mindset thinking this couldn't possibly be true. He was highly doubtful that a Titan would help humanity, let alone work with an outsider, even if the girl was a nice person. "You're out of your mind if you think this is gonna work."

"It _is_ working." Mikasa countered Jean's statement, matching his gaze with dead seriousness. "For whatever reason, he's rampaging against them. Stand back and let them do it. Trust me, you'll see."

A loud crash came from outside, and the Titan roared again. In response, a loud screech of frustration could be heard outside, accompanied by the words: "You are the worst!"

"Either way, what choice do we have? Right now, that thing is our best chance of surviving."

"Ruby's helping him fend off the other Titans as well. Apparently she was able to befriend him, and she calls him the Rogue Titan." Weiss informed the group, turning away from the rest of the soldiers afterward and folding her arms over her chest. She looked back at the door at the back of the room suddenly, as if she had heard or seen something, and she looked spooked for a split second before breathing a sigh of relief. "For a second there I was worried Yang would go crazy. But she's not here—wait, where is Yang?!"

"Easy, Weiss, calm down." Blake planted her hands on the other girl's shoulders. Blake pulled Weiss into a hug as her gaze landed on the recruits. "Do any of you know where Yang is?"

"She's alive and in one piece," Reiner stepped forward, arriving beside Jean. Weiss and Blake both gave a sigh of relief and he could see their muscles relax. Reiner gave both girls a small smile as he continued: "she came in here with us after being swallowed whole by a Titan. We think she might be sick from what she saw and experienced while in there. Annie's taking her to get washed and help her find some new clothes - she kind of stunk from being inside a Titan's stomach, and she was covered in the blood from all the, uh, people in the stomach."

"Is it serious?" Blake asked whilst Weiss pulled away from her, but still held onto Blake's waist.

"For now, it's only vomiting and sweating, likely from the amount of heat and corpses. It's not uncommon for people to get sick while on the front lines, as far as I've heard, and people have recovered and were back on the battlefield after a few days. Yang should be fine, since she's stronger than the rest of us anyway."

Blake's expression softened and she nodded. Her sweet smile, however small it was, was enough to send Jean's heartbeat haywire. "Yeah, you're right, she is. I'm sure she'll recover faster than anyone will predict."

* * *

 **Yang Xiao Long**

* * *

Annie had been kind enough to wash Yang's clothes whilst she was busy washing herself off, replacing the horrid stench with the clean smell of cleanliness and bubbles, and the blood and sweat with clean, fresh water. With a towel wrapped around her body and secured enough to cover her chest, Yang headed into the room where everyone else had gathered, carrying a fresh set of clothes that Annie had managed to find. She owed Annie for that. Furthermore, whilst her supply pouches were being washed, Yang had been given some more pouches for her to carry her things in, if only temporarily.

Unfortunately, though, her luck ended there. No matter what she did, no matter how many times she poured cold water over her head, she could not rid herself of the fatigue plaguing her, though she managed to get rid of every last speck of human blood that had once stained her golden locks. She had an awful headache, too. Perhaps she would just have to rest for now: rest and medicine would be the best course of action, but she figured she'd have to rest in a cleaner place than the Garrison, of all places. Worrying about the Titans in the supply room below didn't help her condition, either, and worrying about the threat of death looming over her and the others, even while washing herself off, only made her more sick.

She still hadn't given herself time to dry, but after all of the ruckus outside the Garrison, she wanted to hear what the next plan of action was. Not to mention, she wanted to see how the rest of her team was doing now that she had the chance to see them again after the few hours of being separated.

The first ones she noticed in the room were Connie and Reiner, sitting together near a corner. Feeling it might be nice for Annie to be around her friends, Yang treaded over to them, leaving a trail of wet footprints. Annie followed behind her silently.

"What's going on?" Yang asked chirpily as she approached Connie and Reiner with a smile on her face. "I heard there was a Titan fighting the other ones outside."

"Oh, hey Yang," Connie replied. Annie proceeded to sit down near Reiner. "Yeah, there is. Ruby's out there helping him fight the others and keep them busy."

"Huh. I thought I heard Ruby shouting while I was in the washroom. It sounded like she was arguing with something that roared. Now I know why." Yang remarked in response, wiping some excess sweat from her forehead.

"Yang, why are you in a towel?" Blake's voice piped up beside her.

"Oh, Blake!" Yang greeted her friend happily, only realising a second later that Weiss was stood next to Blake. "And... Weiss." Yang added.

"Why are you in a towel?" Weiss repeated Blake's question with a tilt of her head.

"I took a wash to clean myself off after I was swallowed whole by a Titan." Yang explained simplistically, shrugging her shoulders as she ran a hand through her still-soaked hair.

"Reiner told us you were eaten." Weiss bit her lip before giving Yang an uneasy look, and took a gulp. "If you don't mind me asking, what—what did you find in there?"

Yang's eyes widened, and she glanced between Weiss and Blake, before lowering herself into a kneeling position. She patted the floor in front of Weiss and Blake's feet. "Sit down. I'll tell you what happened."

Both girls shared a look and nodded their heads, taking a seat on the ground. Yang breathed a sigh, and told them what had happened.

 _She had carved out the weak spot of another Titan, watching it fall to the ground beneath her. As the dead Titan fell, Yang feet left the shoulder they were stood on, and Yang's arms were constricted, held in place and tightly against either side of her torso. She kicked her legs and flailed as she dared to glance behind her, meeting the hungry stare of a 7-metre Titan._

 _Yang stopped moving somewhere along the lines, but she didn't object when the Titan lifted her above its head and dropped Yang into its wide open mouth. She tumbled down its slippery tongue, rolling backwards without a chance to recover. She still had her swords with her, thankfully, and the blades were dragged down the back of its throat, until she fell into some kind of thick liquid. She didn't want to know what it was._

 _She gasped for breath when she managed to stand up. Whatever she was standing on, she didn't know, nor did she want to. She took the time to inspect what was around her, and her last meal on Remnant, as well as what she'd eaten in the days prior, regurgitated up and a large puddle of vomit flowed from her mouth and into the pool of blood she was, in fact, swimming in. Corpses, mutilated, bloody, and dismembered floated all around her, and the smell of the rotting dead bodies drowned her sinuses. Some corpses were halved vertically, with the other side of their face missing, and others didn't have a lower half, and others didn't have a top half. Yang couldn't blink, but she felt streams of tears flowing down her cheeks._

 _Placing the swords back in their empty slots in the boxes on her back, Yang's Ember Celica became alit with golden flames. She pulled her arm back and struck the edge of the stomach, pushing the flesh outward and stretching it._

 _She punched again. She wasn't going to burn here!_

 _And again. She would live!_

 _She punched again, had to! She couldn't let herself get so beat!_

 _Ruby needed her! Her hair was glowing._

 _Weiss and Blake needed her! Her irises were crimson, and a scarlet spark came from her pupil._

 _And... and she wanted to see..._

 _She pulled her arm back one last time, gathered all her energy into her fist, and swung._

 _...She wanted to see her friends in Remnant again._

 _A small hole in the flesh of the Titan's stomach was created as the torn piece of flesh flew away, stretched to the point where it had torn away from the body. Yang climbed out of the hole before it had chance to heal and dropped to the street below, hitting the gravel with a rough thud, her Aura shielding her from the impact. Planting her hands on the ground, Yang's throat was sore, and she coughed and spluttered, some acid from down her throat being regurgitated onto the ground beneath her._

 _Hearing movement behind her, the Titan's hand edging slowly closer, Yang's heart began to beat louder and faster, until Yang could hear her own blood pumping in her ears. She reached a hand behind her head and grabbed the handle of one of the swords._

 _She swung the sword the moment she rose to her feet._

 _The entire hand of the Titan slipped off the arm, blood flowing and evaporating from the open wound, and it fell at her feet._

 _" **DIE!** "_

"I'm sorry we weren't there when you needed us." Blake's brows slanted and she wrapped her arms around Yang.

"Yeah. If you hadn't have been on your own, you wouldn't have had to go through that. We won't let anything like that happen to you again." Weiss jumped onto Yang as well.

Yang wrapped both arms around both girls and pulled them into one of her signature bear hugs. "Hopefully, if all goes well, nothing like that will happen to me again anyway. Besides, we should focus on Ruby. The trauma's probably going to have a much bigger effect on her than on the rest of us. She may only be two years younger than us, but that two years is important."

"Weiss, you were with her during the fall of Squad 34. How was she after witnessing what happened?" Blake asked as she and Weiss pulled away from Yang.

"She went comatose twice within the span of five minutes. The first time was after Thomas died, and I'm certain it was because she was close enough to save him and couldn't, and the second time was after Eren was eaten, but at the time, Armin was also in a similar state. Either way, I'd say it made her more determined. She managed to snap out of it, and she's not letting it get her down. Sure, she may need counselling afterwards, but otherwise I'd say she's still as Ruby as she can be."

"That's nice. I'm glad she's coping well." Yang's smile was bittersweet. She was sure Ruby would have some nightmares and sleepless nights, but Yang, Weiss, and Blake, and even some of the others would be willing to help her sleep peacefully again.

"What about you, Yang? How are you feeling now after being cleaned? Any better?" Blake tilted her head in the blonde's direction.

"I'm just tired. And have a headache from the fighting." Yang told her team partner in hopes that she wouldn't worry so much. Yang suddenly doubled over in a coughing fit. The loudness of her coughs rocked the room a little bit, and as a result, more than a few pairs of concerned gazes bore into her. After it stopped half a minute later, Yang sat up straight again and rubbed her neck. Her throat felt like sandpaper and hurt terribly. All of the coughing fits she'd had up until now had done some damage. "Why'd you ask?" she questioned trying to fake a smile, in spite of her voice being raspy and on the verge of sounding like an old man's.

"It's the contents of the Titan's stomach. I'm worried that what the conditions in there did more damage to your health than you realise. Not to mention the shock value of what you witnessed." Blake pointed out. "And the overwhelming anxiousness of impending doom we've all thought at least once or twice today. No wonder you're sick."

"I agree. You may need the same, if not more, help than Ruby will." Weiss nodded in agreement.

"Guys, I'll be fine. It's nothing I can't handle." Yang waved her hand in dismissal.

As if on cue, the sound of something crashing outside interrupted their conversation and made Yang. She slowly climbed to her feet, Blake helping her to keep her balance. Yang, with Blake's assistance, made her way over to one of the small open windows. When Yang peered out of the window, she was left almost speechless.

The Titan rampaging outside was doing a good number on the other ones, taking them out as if he was a natural at hand-to-hand combat. He was incredible. Yang had never come across something so big that could take out multiple opponents simultaneously and so swiftly at that. It made her proud that there was something so skilled at close quarters combat in this world. She wanted to know what it would be like to train with something so many times bigger than her.

Well, almost. With the size of the Titan, she probably wouldn't stand a chance against him. But still, that didn't mean she couldn't think of what it would be like to fight him.

Ruby was also holding her own fairly well, but most of the Titans she targeted ended up being killed by the one that Yang had learned was called the Rogue Titan, named by Ruby herself. Yang couldn't help but recognise it as the Titan trying to protect Ruby as best he could, even going so far as to 'steal' her potential kills just to keep her out of harm's way. She smiled at the thought of such a motherly instinct being present in a Titan-slaying Titan.

"Look at him go. This guy makes the others look like total weaklings." Yang heard Connie remark. "They're not gonna take this building. Not with him on a rampage out there."

"That's all well and good, but what's to keep him from turning on us once he's done?" Reiner asked, catching the attention of Yang, Connie and Annie. Yang silently made her way towards the group.

"We can cross that bridge if and when we come to it." Yang told him, causing all three of them to stare at her for a moment. She smiled kindly, bringing light on the facts. "Let's just focus on the good he's doing for us right now. Besides, from what I've seen, he has a sort of... motherly instinct."

"What do you mean?" Connie asked, arching a brow.

"He's not just fighting the Titans because he wants to kill them. It seems to me he's fighting them so there's less of a chance that Ruby will put herself in harm's way. In short, he's trying to protect her, but he's keeping it subtle." Yang informed them, crashing her rear on the floor. Thank the gods she had underwear on beneath the towel. "I don't know why, but he has a soft spot for Ruby, I know that much. I've seen it before, in myself, and our dad." she added, scratching the back of her neck. "Let's just keep your attention on the problem in the supply room for now, shall we?"

Her words of wisdom seemed to reach them all, and their faces brightened up a bit. Even Reiner produced a small smile.

"Yeah, you're right." Reiner admitted, his attention fixed on Yang. "At least he's buying us a little time."

"You know, I think it's amazing that you're human, yet you're so much more advanced than we are, with your fighting and all." Connie stated after a brief and awkward pause.

"Well, we could teach you guys how we fight. If we can do extraordinary things, we can train you guys to do the same." Yang suggested, happy that she was finally finding some common ground with the recruits. It was nice to bring light to a grim situation. It also helped to get them off her back about the state of her health after swimming through blood and corpses and the trauma of seeing so many dead people no older than herself that had been forced onto the frontlines. "We haven't really shared that much about our abilities with you guys, so when we have some more time, we'll explain the basics and fundamentals of our strength. Believe me, we're going to need a lot more time if you want us to explain _everything_." Yang mused light-heartedly.

"It's nice to see someone so optimistic in this situation. Hell, you've even been inside a Titan's stomach, and you're still the one lighting up the room." Reiner complimented with a half-smile.

"I've always gone with the flow of life. Being in that Titan's stomach and getting out of it was just another adventurous experience for me. I was more traumatised when I had my first haircut." Yang shrugged as she half-lied, pulling her hair over her shoulder. "You seem like the older brother type yourself. The way you said that makes it sound like you're usually the one who has to do the uplifting when people are down."

"If you're referring to giving speeches about working together and keeping our hopes up for the future, then I don't make a lot of those. Whenever our comrades needed serious inspiration or a simple kick up the ass, we left it to Eren, since he had a lot to say anyway. He had that way of motivating people, even if it was just by shouting at them." Reiner replied with a softened expression. "I was mostly that guy who helped my friends when they needed it. But, didn't you say 'our dad' when speaking about you and Ruby?"

"Yeah. Ruby and I are half-sisters, but still sisters nonetheless. We have the same father, but different moms. Ruby's appearance is almost identical to her own mom, while my appearance is a combination of both our dad and _my_ mom. It's why we're so different, despite being family. We're not ones to let the fact that we have different mothers get in the way of our relationship as sisters, and we only fight about trivial things, like me embarrassing Ruby in front of friends, or who's cheated at our favourite fighting game."

"Good news!" Jean's voice interrupted them as he led a bunch of cadets through the door. Yang spun around, seeing that they all carried large wooden crates with them. "Courtesy of the Military Police! And covered with a layer of dust."

Everyone gathered around as Jean and the others set the crates down. They opened the crates, only to reveal muskets. Yang stepped towards the group, taking several glances between Weiss, Blake, and the muskets. Weiss kneeled down beside Armin and picked up one of the muskets, examining it. Blake leaned forward, looking over Weiss. Yang noticed Jean occasionally glancing at Blake whilst he inspected the musket he was holding.

"Are you absolutely sure buckshot is the way to go?" Jean asked Armin as he readied the musket, several clicks being audible as he did so. He aimed it up at the ceiling so that he didn't accidentally point it at someone. "Seems like we might as well throw spitwads. I mean, come on guys. Are guns even effective?"

"At short range, these muskets will be enough to do some damage, depending on where we're aiming the barrel of the guns at. These things are bound to lose their firepower after travelling over 100 metres." Weiss stated as she stared down the barrel of the musket. Blake carefully lifted the musket out of Weiss' hands and inspected it herself.

"Since when did you become Ruby?" Blake asked.

"I didn't. She asked me to help her with studying some old weapons used throughout the history of Remnant. I don't know what she was studying them for, but I learnt a few things from it nonetheless." Weiss justified, as if she felt the need to defend herself. She then turned to Armin, possibly looking for a way out. "So, Armin, why don't you explain your plan?"

Armin nodded, though Yang could tell he seemed hesitant. "We're looking at seven Titans in the supply room of the four-metres tall variety. If we time this _perfectly_ , this much ammo oughta be enough to do the trick. Step one: we lower a group into the area via lift to get the Titans' attention. Step two: when the Titans come within range, the group fires in all four directions simultaneously, blinding them." Armin paused for a second. "Then the hard part. The moment of truth, as it were. Before the Titans have time to recover, seven of us swoop down from the ceiling and strike their vital regions. That's it; that's the plan. It puts all our lives on the line. We screw up, we're dead."

"That's a hell of a risk for one attack," Weiss shrugged her shoulders, "but it's our only chance. I, for one, support it."

"Wait, you do—?" Armin piped up in shock.

"And besides, the only risk I see is if more than one person screws up. I have full confidence that we'll be able to handle it _if_ only one person misses their mark." Weiss carried on.

"I agree." Blake nodded. "We're capable people. Right?"

"...Right." Armin seemed to agree, nodding his head slightly.

"Seems like a sound plan." Reiner stated, giving a wide, hearty smile. Yang couldn't help but smile too. It'd been a while since she had seen such a genuine smile from anyone in this world.

"When you get right down to it, the risk is the same for everyone. Doesn't really matter who goes." Annie added, her hand on her hip.

Yang opened her mouth to make an uplifting comment, but she was stopped when her head began pounding, and suddenly she began seeing images of every body part, every face, every torso, in her head. She clutched at her hair and took a few steps back, unable to see clearly as she screamed and lost her balance and her rear hit the floor. Blake was the first one to jog over to her as she shook uncontrollably, staring at the ground with widened eyes, her breathing erratic and her eyes welling up with tears at their corners as her stomach produced another round of acid, which flowed from the back of her throat and onto the floor.

"Yang! Yang, what happened?! Can you tell me what happened?" Blake attempted to comfort her, rubbing the blonde's back in circular patterns. Yang slowly turned her head towards Blake, her mind going blank on what to tell the girl.

"Just a sudden flashback. Sorry." Yang answered, her hoarse voice softened and quiet. She rubbed her forehead in a useless attempt to get rid of her throbbing headache.

"Not that we planned on having her take part in the operation anyway, but now I think she'll need more help than Ruby will. If she's having flashbacks of such trauma..." Weiss turned to Mikasa, her icy blue eyes sparkling with fraught. "Is there any place where we can get her some cushions or blankets? Or just something comfortable for her?"

"There is a cabinet somewhere stocked with blankets and towels and things like that." Mikasa replied with a nod of her head.

"I saw one on the way here." Jean piped up. "It shouldn't take too long to get some of the things in there." He hastily got to his feet and without waiting for anyone else's input, Jean spun on his heel and quickly left the room.

Blake gently sat Yang down in a wide space between two crates, positioned several feet away from her, on either side. As soon as Yang sat down, she suffered another coughing fit. Somewhere around eight to ten consecutive coughs later, Yang's voice was painfully hoarse and her throat was burning. Placing a hand on her chest, Yang tried to determine how fast her heart was beating and somehow return the pace of her heart to normal.

The attempt failed.

The back of Blake's hand pressed lightly against Yang's forehead. "You're burning up," Blake told her, her voice betraying a vague sense of panic. "I'm positive this is the aftermath of the trauma. You're stressing out about it, I can tell. I didn't expect it to come on so prominently so soon." she carried on, before turning toward the others. "I think she's starting to burn up. With all the emotions and stress, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of her Semblance acting up."

"I'll go get some cold water and towels." Annie volunteered, soon out of the door as well.

"Armin," Weiss called out to the blond. He turned to her with a scared expression. Weiss leaned forward: "When the plan succeeds and this is finally over, is there some place we can take Yang to get treated?"

"There would usually be some camps set up after a safe zone is established in the district. Most of them should be sickbays or medical camps for the wounded." Armin informed her with a small trace of optimism. "We can take Yang to one of those, provided that we take the precautions to make sure that there's always someone there with her to calm her down during these kinds of attacks. Be aware, though, what with all she and Ruby have been through, they might be suffering from post-traumatic stress in the coming days. We'll need to have Ruby looked after as well, especially if Yang's already got it this bad."

"Well, at least we've got a plan." Weiss responded.

"Blake," Yang, in a surprisingly slow and weak motion, grabbed Blake's sleeve. Her throat was sore enough, but she needed to get it off her chest. And so, with one deep exhale, she said, "I need you to promise me one thing. Promise me that... no matter what, you'll do whatever you can to make sure Voerman pays for what he's done... what he's made us and them suffer through... shellshock or not... he still doomed the plan to save himself..."

Blake took Yang's hand in her own. "Of course. I promise I will."

"And... Weiss..."

"I'm here," Weiss' head rose.

Yang held eye contact with her, although briefly. "Please... take care of Ruby for me."

"You say that like you're going to die." Weiss stated, sounding unbelievably surprised. Though, she carried on. "But okay, I'll make sure she stays out of too much trouble. Just for you, though."

"Good..." Yang smiled, before her vision became a blurry mess. Her consciousness slipped away in a matter of seconds, accompanied by her vision going black and the last sounds of Blake calling her name.


	6. Chapter 6 – Spectacular Victories

**{1.} As for future Semblances, I haven't really had any ideas for the other characters myself. I've thought about Eren's, Levi's, and Mikasa's Semblances and what they would be – and with the help of FullmetalDeadman93, I finally have a few good concept ideas which I think will make it through to the actual story. Also, Armin will have a Semblance, and I have already made a choice on what that would be.**

 **{2.} I've had thoughts about Team JNPR going into the world of Attack on Titan to try and find Team RWBY, but I don't know if I should include it. Would any of you like to see them fight some Titans, or should they stay in Beacon?**

 **{3.} Believe it or not, I highly encourage commenting. Constructive criticism is something I like to have so that I can improve my writing. After all, this is my first story on this site, which is filled with so many amazing authors that have written fantastic stories. But, I will not tolerate hateful reviews. I do appreciate constructive criticism, trust me, I do. But don't purposefully bash my story for being that – my story. I am entitled to creative liberty and my own imagination. If you don't like it, well, tough. Just go and read a story you do like.**

 **{4.} For some of you who want to know, I like to write this story as I would think of it being if it was animated. I mean, I like to think of it as if it was the actual anime version of AOT, but with RWBY incorporated into it as well. In fact, if you don't do that already, you should try to envision the scenes animated when you're reading this story. Just a thought. Also, I would love to see this animated. In fact, I'd love to see a crossover series of Attack on Titan and RWBY! Would you? Tell me your thoughts!**

 **{5.} As for the device that sent Team RWBY to the AOT world, I am aware that it stretches the lore of Remnant quite a bit, though I'm simply relying on the fact that this is fanfiction and so I feel it would be okay to do so via creative liberty and all. Not everything may be incredibly accurate considering that the world and lore of Remnant is still a bit of a mystery, and there are still things we may not know. So I'm sure it is acceptable – to some degree – that I can write my story based on certain assumptions that I will ensure are as accurate as possible. Even if I have to resort to theories that may or may not turn out to be correct {but, of course, said theories may be included if they are reasonable enough and do make sense as well}.**

* * *

 **Jaune Arc**

* * *

Jaune anxiously waited in the elevator going up to Professor Ozpin's office, accompanied by the rest of his team: Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. It had only been a couple of hours since Team RWBY disappeared, and he could already feel the difference it made to Beacon's atmosphere. According to rumour, Professor Ozpin was the one who sent the team after Torchwick and the White Fang, possibly presuming Team RWBY's – specifically, Ruby's and Blake's – history with the faction could guarantee their success in the mission.

Professor Ozpin had stated that he did not expect Weiss to be kidnapped during the mission, nor did he expect the device he sent them after to cause the four exceptionally skilled girls to disappear. In fact, though he had considered the possibility of the device being activated, he didn't think that it would cause a crisis like this one.

He also didn't think that Torchwick would be able to re-obtain the device shortly after the girls had vanished.

Pyrrha, who was stood beside Jaune, placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to realise that he needed to relax. "It's going to be okay. Don't worry yourself too much." she assured him. Jaune didn't speak, but instead responded with a shy smile, making no attempt to hide his apprehensive state – after all, Pyrrha sometimes had her ways of seeing through him. He turned his head towards Ren and Nora, both of them seeming to be somewhat tensed up. Even Nora was getting fidgety, shivers often travelling down her spine.

The elevator doors opened, and Team JNPR hesitantly walked into the Headmaster's office, though Pyrrha and Ren more so did it to accompany Jaune and Nora rather than out of their own anxiousness. Professor Ozpin was sat at his desk, as per usual, with Glynda Goodwitch standing beside the glass table, her riding crop in hand.

"Take a seat," Professor Ozpin calmly ordered them, not sounding particularly too demanding. The team all took their seats in the chairs positioned at the other side of the desk, opposite the Headmaster himself. Professor Ozpin pressed his hands on the table, pressing his palms on the glass. "Now, I'll start this by saying that time is of the essence to find Team RWBY. Considering that the incident made the news, I'm sure you are all aware of the events that transpired in the early hours of the morning, is that correct?"

"Yes, professor." all four members of the team responded.

"I'm sure you must have your own questions. I may not be able to answer some of them, but if it's of any consolation to you, I must clarify that Team RWBY being out there was not entirely my own decision."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"They were more than persistent about going after Torchwick, weren't they?" Jaune inquired, hunching his shoulders.

"So persistent that we had no choice but to give in to their decision. Apparently, when it comes to catching criminals, they lose the ability to understand being denied, no matter how many times they get told 'no'." Professor Goodwitch affirmed.

"Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna were the most eager out of the four of them. So much so that they insisted their team be chosen to reclaim the device that was stolen." the Headmaster began to explain, a solemn expression coating his features whilst he glanced between each member of the JNPR team. Jaune could tell he was apologetic about letting the four girls take part in a mission that they weren't supposed to be involved in. "And so, I made a compromise. Glynda and Doctor Oobleck were to go with the girls in order to ensure their safety and return."

"That plan changed when we went out to meet up with Team RWBY. Team RWBY had already left when we reached the aircraft that was going to take us to the site. When we searched the aircraft for them, I only managed to find a note left by Miss Schnee." Glynda held out a folded piece of paper towards Jaune. The blond gulped and nervously took the note into his own hands. He unfolded the paper and read the note.

"'Team RWBY sincerely apologises for leaving without you, Miss Goodwitch. Yang and I needed to pursue Ruby and Blake after they ran off to stop Torchwick and the White Fang by themselves. We were dragged into going with them. So can you please not punish either me or Yang when we return?'" Jaune read aloud. "'Signed, Weiss Schnee'."

"Fortunately, we had access to the security cameras at the docks, so I was able to monitor the four of them. _Unfortunately_ , so did the media." Glynda clarified after Jaune folded up the paper and passed the note back to her.

"I'm sure you all caught sight of the object that fell out of the aircraft. It was visible on the news broadcast of the event, and it was bright enough for most nearby residents to see." Ozpin remarked after a brief moment of uncomfortable silence. The four students nodded their heads; they hadn't even had to watch it on the news. In their first class that morning – history, taught by Professor Oobleck himself – they watched the security footage that had shown what happened in the event. After another, longer, awkward silence, Ozpin cleared his throat and turned to Glynda. "I suppose it's best if we explain what the device is."

"But Professor Ozpin—" Glynda attempted to object, but the Headmaster interrupted her by raising his hand.

Professor Ozpin lowered his hand after Glynda stayed silent. "It's only fair that we provide some answers for them."

Glynda hesitated, but eventually nodded her head. She unveiled her small Scroll and placed it on the table. Behind the team, a hologram appeared, showcasing a cubed device and a spherical object. Studs lined the horizontal midsection of the spherical device. Both of the objects featured flat veins that patterned each device. The veins circled around certain circular crystals that appeared on the top and bottom of the spherical object and were attached to each square face of the cubed device. It took more than a few seconds for Jaune to realise that the crystals were actually Dust crystals that had been cut into circular shapes.

"What we are about to inform you on is not to leave this room, for fear of it being public knowledge and causing disruption among the people of Vale. As guardians of the general populace, we cannot and must not allow the citizens of Remnant to know that such dangerous devices existed, and that it caused what would be an impossible phenomenon to occur." Ozpin rose from his seat and stood beside the hologram of the two objects. All four members of the team spun themselves round to face the Professor and Headmaster. "These two devices are what we discovered several years ago, when scouring a small village on Vale's border for any survivors and wiping out the Grimm that had nested there. At the time, we didn't know the village was already abandoned and in ruins; so when the huntsmen on that mission had wiped out the Grimm infesting the village, an investigation into the disappearance of the villagers was soon underway." Ozpin continued as the hologram switched to an image of the abandoned village. "During the investigation, they found the two devices in the basement of one of the houses. The spherical device appeared to have been used just before they arrived. It's believed that the spherical device was used to transport the villagers somewhere else when the Grimm attacked."

"Wherever the villagers are is still uncertain to this very day." Professor Goodwitch carried on, stationing herself on the other side of the hologram. "However, there is reason to think that Team RWBY may have ended up in the same place as the villagers."

"One can only hope." Professor Ozpin nodded his head. "Fortunately, as worrisome as the disappearance of Team RWBY is, there is one thing we managed to learn from it. We managed to witness how exactly the devices caused the villagers – and Team RWBY – to vanish without a trace. Everyone who watched the security footage from the docks knows that at least the cubed device lights up and projects colours onto its surroundings. That is just one of the many things we were able to deduce from the video.

"Before Torchwick stole the devices, we were also able to analyse what the devices themselves were made of." Glynda stated. The holographic image of the village was replaced by the image of the devices again. "Our analysis of the devices showed that they were made with some type of advanced technology previously unknown to us. One particular theory was that the technology had some sort of effect on the Dust infused with it, causing the combinations of different Dust types to behave abnormally. This theory grew stronger upon seeing the security footage. It was clear to us that the technology gave the Dust alternate properties. We also believe that because the devices are filled to the brim with Dust, they are activated by simply making contact with one's Aura. That being said, we have also been developing ways of transporting the devices, such as a large and thick metal glove that is not protected by Aura.

"One of the types we think caused the disappearances was the white Dust infused in the veins of the devices. It is presumed that the technology altered the white Dust to cause some sort of portal, while the explosive power of the red Dust crystals on them were used to give the white light more of an explosive appearance." Ozpin added.

"Is that why you wanted to get them back so much? To stop them from falling into the wrong hands?" Jaune nervously asked while the two professors paused for a brief moment. Jaune understood what Ozpin and Glynda were saying, although the lecture about how they were found kind of bored him. Nora's eyelids were flickering shut though, and Jaune had to nudge her while he awaited an answer from either the Headmaster or Glynda.

"Of course. Though, understanding that much is only half the battle." Ozpin replied with a half-smile. "What we have to focus on now is what we can do for Team RWBY. And, before we can even think about getting them back, we must first retrieve the devices. And this time, we must not fail."

Jaune looked between each of his teammates: first Pyrrha, then Nora, and finally Ren. They all nodded at him, and he nodded back. Jaune raised his head, holding eye contact with the Headmaster.

"What do we need to do?"

* * *

 **Blake Belladonna**

* * *

Blake steadied her breath as she hid on the support beam. There were seven Titans roaming around the room, all in the 4-metre range, as Armin had clarified earlier. The seven Titans seemed to be unaware of the hidden assassins waiting above them, and were just wandering aimlessly through the room, as if they were either lost or searching for more humans to devour. For once in her life, Blake felt thankful that she was born a Faunus. Still, though, she had yet to test her theory on whether or not the Titans would still recognise her as human without her bow. And until she would be alone and not outnumbered, and possibly even then, she wouldn't want to go that far.

Weiss and Blake had both been chosen for this operation. Yang was resting in the room above the supply hall after what had qualified as a panic attack. When Blake left her team partner on the floor above, Yang had been laid in a makeshift bed, with two buckets beside her and a cold towel on her head to calm down the rising temperature from the effects of her Semblance. One of the buckets was there so that Yang would have something to throw up in if she needed to. The other bucket was full of cold water, and had extra towels hanging on the ridge of it.

The other five taking part in the operation with Blake and Weiss were Mikasa, Sasha, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie.

Her Faunus ears perked up when she heard the sound of the lift being lowered, and Blake felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face when she realised her bow had twitched. It was bad enough the area on and above the support beams was dark enough to make her partly blind, but now at least one of the cadets probably heard the shuffling of her cat ears inside the fabric of the ribbon hiding them.

The lift came into view. Once the lift was approximately at eye-level with the Titans, it halted its descent and the soldiers readied their muskets; all of them aimed at the eyes of the Titans.

"Good; we're still at seven." Marco whispered to everyone, stood in the middle of Armin and Jean. "Okay now, nice and easy." he softly said. His quiet voice would have barely reached Blake, had it not been for her cat ears.

A blond Titan had made its way across the room and stopped in front of them, automatically electing itself to become Blake's target. It turned its head in their direction, no doubt trying to inflict fear on the group of cadets it made eye contact with. It seemed to work, as one soldier produced a noise that sounded as if he was trying to hold back a shriek.

"Keep your cool! Fire only when they're all within range!" Marco commanded him, trying to keep his voice low. All of the recruits were sweating with fear, it seemed, though some were sweating more than others.

The Titan below Blake proceeded to advance towards the group of cadets, their presence attracting it closer. It disregarded the muskets that the soldiers were aiming at it. Blake didn't know if that indicated the Titan's intelligence – or lack thereof – or whether or not the Titan knew that the muskets wouldn't kill it. If the latter was true, it would certainly pose the question of whether or not the Titans were self-aware.

But she shouldn't get distracted. Blake needed to focus.

"Steady..." Marco said whilst all of the Titans gathered around the lift.

There was the slight whimper and tremble throughout the group as Blake's target took a few more steps towards them. However, it stared down the gun barrel for a moment, pausing its advance for a second or two.

"Almost..."

Everyone placed their finger on the trigger of the muskets. The Titans took a final step closer to the lift. Their large eyes almost came into contact with the musket barrels aimed at them.

"FIRE!"

A flurry of bright yellow flashes suddenly arose as the group fired the muskets simultaneously. Smoke rose from where the Titans' eyes had been, and they held their hands close to their eyes. The eyes of all the Titans had been shot through, and all that were left were big, black holes.

Blake and Weiss were the first to leap from the support beams. Weiss landed on the shoulder of her targeted Titan and stabbed her blades into one side of the Titan's nape. She ran along the back of the neck and to the other side of it, dragging the swords through the weak spot. When she got to the other side, Weiss kicked her feet off of the side of the Titan's neck, launching herself into the air as the Titan collapsed on the ground. She hopped from glyph to glyph afterward, before landing softly and elegantly on the ground.

Blake got the drop on the blond Titan, already impaling both of her blades into the weak spot before she'd even landed on the nape. Like all of the other Titans she'd killed, it took virtually no time to carve out the weak spot. She rolled off of the Titan's decaying body when it crashed on the ground. Her head spun while she glanced at everyone else around the room, watching four of the other five take out their targets.

Everyone apart from Sasha had killed a Titan. From what Blake could see, Sasha had hit the Titan's weak spot, but the wound was too shallow to kill it. What was even worse was the fact that the Titan's eyes had already regenerated. It was clear that the Titan was angry at Sasha; or maybe that was its usual expression?

The Titan rotated in place, and Sasha backed up. "Uhh... I... uhh..." she stuttered, appearing so lost for words at the predicament she'd found herself in. "...I'm sorry... I didn't..." Sasha tried to apologise to the Titan. She smiled in fear, though it faded when her back made contact with the wall. The Titan slowly advanced towards Sasha. Blake saw the opening to attack it. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you..." Sasha breathed out, as if the Titan would stop its pursuit of her.

"Sasha missed!" Bertholdt shouted out.

But before anyone could give the order to pull back, Blake charged towards the Titan, aiming for the heel. Blake swung her katana and deeply slashed through the Achilles tendon, causing it to fall to the ground where Sasha was standing.

"I said I'm sorry!" Sasha blurted out. She dodged the falling Titan, dropping her swords on the ground in the process.

Blake leapt into the air, her feet landing on the Titan's back. She scurried towards the nape, skidding and swerving while she stabbed the weak spot with her katana and sheath. Blake let the momentum of her swerve allow her to slice through the nape and carve out a chunk of the flesh. Once the Titan began to decay, Blake hopped off of the Titan. Everyone except Weiss looked on at her with stunned expressions. However, her attention snapped toward Sasha when the girl herself planted her hands on Blake's top and gazed up at the Faunus with tears in her eyes.

"Blake! You saved my life!" Sasha exclaimed, her mouth agape as she stared up at Blake. Blake herself was holding the girl's hands.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked as she pulled Sasha up off the ground, letting go of her hands afterward.

"Because of you, I am!" Sasha nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"Then wipe your eyes and start refilling your gas." Blake ordered in a soft tone, before turning to the others in the lift and using her hands as a makeshift microphone. "The supply room is clear! It's safe to come down!" Blake shouted, and gave them all a thumbs up.

Smiles and cheers were contagious among the cadets. Marco even fainted for a split second, but Jean and Connie caught him.

The lift was lowered and everyone rushed out of it. The majority of the cadets started to fill up their gas supply. Weiss approached Blake and smiled. Blake smiled back, happy that the mission was a success.

"We're gonna make it! We're gonna live!"

"No more of 'em coming in! Thank you, crazy berserker Titan!"

The relieved voices of the recruits made Blake more happy, and she let her expression soften a bit.

Blake's bow twitched again, this time at the sound of Sasha's cries. "I caved in front of the whole gang! I'm never gonna be able to face any of them again!" she shouted at herself, holding her head.

"Damnit, feel sorry for yourself later! Focus on escape!" Connie yelled at her in response.

Blake's mouth curled up into a wide smile, finally feeling somewhat proud of herself as of this moment. But she was also tired, as well as a bit stressed. Not to mention, Yang was also still on the floor above.

"Weiss," Blake turned to the heiress beside her, "I'm going to pick up Yang. Can you try and find anything that can help us when it comes time to transport her?"

"Sure. I'd assume there's be something around here for that purpose." Weiss nodded her head.

While Weiss hastily left the room to find something that would help transport Yang, Blake hopped up onto the edge of the basket of the lift. She climbed up the conveyer belts that helped to raise and lower the lift, finally reaching the top after almost half a minute. When Blake managed to get her bearings of the room again, she found Yang laid down near the wall, laid on her back and sandwiched between several white blankets.

Blake rushed over to her immediately. Yang's breathing was erratic, and upon touching her forehead to gauge her temperature, Blake found that Yang had what could only be deduced as a nightmarish fever. In short, Yang's temperature was scolding hot. Blake had to wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that Yang could sometimes be a walking inferno, or if it was because she was having a nightmare and it was sending her Semblance into overdrive.

Blake carefully removed the towel from Yang's forehead, trying not to burn herself or damage her Aura whilst she placed it in the bucket of cold water. After leaving the heated wet towel on the rim of the bucket to dry, Blake picked up another two towels and dunked them into the cold water. She kept them in for around five seconds, before taking them out and laying them on Yang's forehead.

Yang's eyes shot open and the cold towels dropped onto her lap when the blonde's upper body suddenly shot upright. Yang was enveloped in a cold sweat, and she looked more spooked than Blake had ever seen her.

"You're going to be okay, Yang." Blake cooed, wrapping her arms around her teammate's shoulders.

Yang had tears in her eyes, and seeing the girl so broken broke Blake's heart. "Blake...?"

"I'll make sure we get you to where you can be treated. Trust me." Blake planted her head on top of Yang's as she pulled Yang into her chest for comfort. "Just think of Ruby. You're going to see her again. Weiss and I will make sure of it, alright? Just think about that. You've got something to look forward too. Just think of the good things. We took out the Titans in the supply room, too, and the cadets are refilling their gas. Focus on the positives." She nodded at Yang, silently asking if she understood. When Yang nodded her head in response, Blake smiled and set Yang back down, then stood up and looked around. She wanted to get Yang's clothes and some extras before she left. Where were the ones she was wearing? They should be washed and dried by now.

She left the room, trying to trace Annie's steps to the washroom. She used Yang's footprints to direct her, finding that they still hadn't dried up yet. When she found the washroom, Yang's usual outfit was in a neatly folded pile on top of a heater, clean and not a single bloodstain to be seen. Beside the folded clothes was Yang's belt and pouches, on top of which were the bracelet form of her Ember Celica. Blake picked up the belt and pouches and Yang's Ember Celica, stacking them on top of the folded clothes. She then lifted the stacked pile off of the heater and treaded back to the room Yang was laid in. Once there, Blake knelt down and placed the pile beside her, before taking her white backpack off her back and planting it down in front of her. After opening it, Blake stuffed the pile into her backpack and closed it, carefully swinging it back onto her back.

Sliding her arms underneath all of the blankets a weary Yang was laid on top of, Blake lifted Yang off of the ground and held her close. She treaded over to the lift, careful with her steps so as to not aggravate Yang, especially when she was in such a state. After releasing a deep sigh, she hopped down the shaft, using her Shadow Semblance several times to soften the fall and keep Yang comfortable.

Once she landed with sure footing, Weiss managed to arrive at coincidentally the same time. The heiress dragged a simple stretcher behind her. The stretcher was made up of a green tarp and wooden poles, and was bigger than Weiss. Blake also noticed that Weiss carried three brown leather belts on her shoulder.

"Weiss! Over here!" Blake raised her head, hoping to catch Weiss' attention. Weiss quickened her pace after a glimpse at Blake. Upon approaching Blake, Weiss set the stretcher down, flat on the ground. Blake nodded and gently set Yang down on the stretcher. "Thanks. What's with the belts?"

"I found them with the stretcher. They're to keep Yang in place while she's being carried on it." Weiss explained curtly. "Help me put these on, will you? We don't want Yang falling off of this thing, now do we?"

"Right." Blake responded with an equally curt nod of her head. She rolled her eyes and grabbed one of the belts in Weiss' hand. It took Blake around ten seconds to fasten the belt to the wooden pole on Yang's right-hand side, and another ten seconds to position it over Yang's chest and buckle it on the other wooden pole. Weiss did the same thing in another twenty or so seconds, with the belt positioned just above Yang's abdomen. For the last belt, Blake took one end of it and tied it around the wooden pole on Yang's right-hand side, while Weiss buckled it on the wooden pole on Yang's left-hand side. The belt hovered above Yang's lower legs. "There. Done." Blake said afterwards with a smile on her face.

"That was easy enough." Weiss stood back up, her hands on her hips and a smile of pride on her face. "She should be alright like that for now."

"I hope so." Blake nodded, standing up straight as well. "We should see how the others are doing."

"Agreed."

It would be nice to take a break and use this time to have a meaningful conversation with the cadets. Looking back on the day so far, everything had been a blur, with the primary focus being on survival. The adrenaline that served to keep them going had drowned out most of everything, and had prohibited them from thinking clearly enough to actually process what had happened in the first place. Blake and Weiss were lucky enough to actually have this moment of peace, even if it was at the cost of the energy that both Ruby and the Rogue Titan had to fight. Unfortunately, Yang hadn't gotten the same opportunity. The fact that she was barely unconscious didn't make her situation any more peaceful, as she was clearly suffering.

The fight against the Titans had taxed them more than any situation the team had found themselves in prior to their arrival. Blake awaited the moment when all would settle down and there would finally be a day that went by peacefully and without trouble caused by the Titans.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked, leaning in front of Armin when she approached him. Blake could see he looked worried about something. But then it occurred to her: he always looked worried or anxious. Blake couldn't remember the last time she had seen him look calm.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm just... in shock that my plan actually succeeded, I guess." Armin responded shyly. "Is Yang doing alright?"

"For now. We have no choice but to wait until if and when a safe zone is initiated and a med bay opens up somewhere before we can do anything more to help her." Blake shrugged, sparing a glance back at Yang to find her unconscious. "Until that happens, I suppose we have some time to kill. Not to mention, we haven't had any normal interactions with you guys yet."

"Yeah," Weiss agreed with a roll of her shoulders, "but before that, have you finished resupplying?"

"I've already refuelled and restocked my blades." Armin replied, nodding his head. He averted his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Weiss. Blake knew why – it was obvious, due to the red dusting his cheeks. Looking at Weiss made him flustered.

"I'm glad that plan worked out in the end," Weiss blurted out, taking a seat beside him. "Looks like I was right. You _are_ quite the strategist, aren't you?"

A failed attempt at a nervous chuckle escaped Armin's lips. He rubbed the back of his head, risking an occasional glance at Weiss. "There was a moment when the last Titan hadn't been killed... I, uh, I panicked. I thought I had failed everyone."

"You didn't fail anyone. Blake took care of it, and it's all behind us now." Weiss told him. Whether or not she was aware of the closeness between her and Armin and how nervous it was making him was up for debate, and if she was aware, she didn't show any clear signs. "Besides, I doubt that the others could've thought of anything better."

"Yeah, I... I guess," Armin nodded. "I've been meaning to thank you and your team for all that you've done."

"I agree." Jean piped up from the bench beside them. "You saved most, if not all of us."

"It's what we're trained to do. As huntresses-in-training, we're used to fighting monsters and helping people who need it along the way. The only difference here is the size of our targets, and even then, it's not a wide margin. Seriously; Ruby was able to decapitate a giant bird we call a Nevermore, and that's as big as one of the Titans above ten metres." Blake told him, watching as he smiled at her with... was that admiration in his eyes?

"Still, if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be here right now." Armin replied with a soft smile.

"Neither would some of us," Marco added, flashing a smile. "I just wish there was something we could do in return for your help."

"Well, we're gonna need to rely on you guys if we want to make it back home to our world. It's only fair that we should help you fight whatever it is that's trying to destroy yours."

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

The Rogue Titan had cleared up most of the Titans surrounding Headquarters. The ones that were left were either on the other side of the building, or were still trying to climb over the rooftops. Either way, she finally had a moment alone with the Rogue Titan, even if it wasn't an ideal situation.

"Rogue!" Ruby called out to him, landing on his shoulder. At the calling of his nickname, his head turned to her, his eyes focused intently on her. "While we have a moment to talk, I just want to ask if you'll be around for much longer. If and when we clear all of these Titans out, will you go back out into the rest of Trost and keep fighting?"

Ruby's heart sank as the Titan looked away, as if he was pausing to think. He then shook his head, releasing a sad, almost pitiful, roar. Ruby could feel tears building up behind her eyes.

"It's because there are too many, isn't it? Are you running out of energy to keep fighting?" Ruby inquired further, attempting to keep the sadness from leaking into her voice. "You forget that you've got me here with you. Why don't you want me to help you kill them?" she paused. "Are you worried that I'll get hurt?"

He nodded his head.

Before Ruby could process what happened next, she was lifted up my her cloak. She raised her head to see what had caught her, but was surprised to see her Titan friend holding her cloak between his thumb and index finger. He then crouched down, in front of the entryway to the supply room, if Ruby were to guess. Ruby was powerless to stop him from reaching his hand through the archway and dropping her on the floor. He retracted his arm, and in the next moment, he and Ruby shared what anyone else would consider 'prolonged' eye contact. And in the following few moments, he lifted himself up from the ground and proceeded to walk out of view.

"No! Wait!" Ruby scrambled to her feet and raced over to the archway. "I can help! There are too many of you to handle on your own!" she shouted, even though it was made abundantly clear to her that it was futile to stop him. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she sprinted towards him, following him around the other side of the building. "You don't have to do this to protect me! Please! They'll end up killing you if I don't go with you!"

He disappeared around a corner. Ruby could faintly hear him roaring, and punches being thrown. She bent her knees, about to use her Semblance in order to reach him, but was tugged back by someone's hand. Ruby lost her balance and fell backwards, landing on her back. Weiss stood over her, leaning forward with her hands on her hips.

"And where do you think you're going? Off to get yourself killed?" she asked, her tone shrill and sharp. Ruby didn't answer, for she was too stunned to speak. "Well?" Weiss folded her arms. "Don't tell me you were planning to save him. I am fully aware that you consider him a friend, but that doesn't mean you should risk your own life for him. He wouldn't want you to do that for him. If what Yang said is true, then he has a motherly instinct to protect you, which means that he made the decision to leave you here with us out of the goodness of his heart. You should respect that decision, not only for his sake, but for the sake of your teammates, too."

Ruby slowly sat up, planting her face in her hands. She began to sob uncontrollably, realising that she had briefly forgotten what was most important to her: her teammates. Weiss was correct yet again; Ruby was being selfish. She wanted so desperately to help in any way she could, to be of use on the battlefield, to do something heroic for once. She'd let that cloud her vision and her teammates had been forced to go on without their leader, when instead she should have done her job and led them. Just what kind of hero would do that to some of the people closest to them?

"I'm... I'm sorry!" Ruby apologised, her tears dripping out of her hands and landing on the front of her combat skirt. "I'm the worst team leader ever! I left you guys to go on without me while I was too focused on the tasks I had set myself! I was supposed to be there for you, but I was too busy wrapped up in trying to prove myself useful and attempting to play the hero that I forgot what I _should_ be doing!"

Weiss softly took Ruby's shaking hands in hers, pulling them away from Ruby's tearstained face. She held Ruby's hands with a gentle but tight grip. "And what is it that you should be doing?"

Ruby shared eye contact with Weiss briefly, before capturing the heiress in a hug. "I should be doing my job and leading you!"

"Good," Weiss hugged back after a second, wrapping her arms around Ruby's back. "I'm glad we have our _fearless leader_ back."

"Weiss?" Ruby pulled away, staring into Weiss' eyes as she wiped her own teary ones.

"Yes?"

"Promise me that if I ever do that again, you'll always be there to scold me for it."

"You sound like you don't trust yourself not to make the same mistake twice," Weiss said after a sigh, "but okay. I promise I'll let you know when you're getting ahead of yourself."

"Weiss! Everyone's finished resupplying!" Ruby head Blake's voice yell behind her. Ruby wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to dry her face and eyes of the remaining tears, before rising to her feet alongside Weiss. Blake was standing by the archway, holding a stretcher with Yang strapped to it. "Everyone's going! Come on!" she ushered them with a motion of her hand.

Ruby and Weiss nodded at each other, regaining their usual smiles. Weiss headed toward Blake and followed the Faunus' lead, accompanying some of the other recruits. Ruby barely made a step forward when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mikasa on one of the rooftops. When Ruby raised her head to focus on the girl, Ruby found that she was staring in the direction of where the Rogue Titan had gone in order to fight the other Titans.

Panic started to seep through Ruby's system, and her blood ran cold.

Ruby felt as if she'd been possessed. Extending Crescent Rose, Ruby fired a few rounds from the barrel of her sniper-scythe, and began running along the series of rooftops until she reached Mikasa's side. She dropped to her knees when she saw the scene.

The Rogue Titan was pinned against a building, having his flesh chewed down on by the Titans that were holding him. Ruby couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had thought that Titans only eat humans, hence why humanity had built the walls, but a group of Titans eating the flesh of another Titan?

So that was why, in her gut, she knew he would be getting himself killed when he walked around that corner.

And now here he was.

The sound of a pair of wires echoed in Ruby's ears. Armin landed beside Ruby and Mikasa, with Weiss in tow behind him.

"What are you two doing?" Armin asked. "We have to leave, now!"

"Look down there." Mikasa was the first to respond.

Armin and Weiss both turned their heads. Armin's eyes were widened as he tried to process what he was seeing. "Cannibalism?" Armin whispered, undoubtedly at a loss for words. "Can he not regenerate like the others?"

In the pit of her stomach, Ruby was struck by a sudden surge of anger. It coursed through her veins, and her vision went red. A combination of a scream and a battle cry came out of Ruby's mouth. Her Semblance in full affect, Ruby flew off the parapet in a red blur, closely followed by a trail of rose petals.

Her first target was the smaller Titan holding the Rogue's right leg. While speeding through the air, Ruby began to spin ceaselessly in coordination with Crescent Rose. A red whirlwind formed, and continued gaining speed as her magazine clip was emptied of its casings. Ruby's target was reduced to mere chunks of dismembered flesh in little to no time at all.

More people gathered on the rooftop, overlooking the scene. The ones that had just arrived to the scene were Blake, an unconscious and pale Yang, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, and Jean. As Mikasa gazed on in wonder of Ruby's demonstration of her skills, Blake and Weiss were covering their mouths. Armin's jaw had dropped as well.

"This may sound stupid, but I was hoping he'd be the key for us." Mikasa said. "That he'd help mankind break the cycle. Turn the tides just long enough to give us a little ray of hope."

Ruby heaved Crescent Rose over her head and struck a taller Titan that was chewing down on the Rogue's left arm. The entire blade of her scythe hit vertically in the middle of the Titan's head. Her empty magazine case dropped from its place on Crescent Rose's shaft, allowing Ruby to shove a full magazine of Gravity Dust rounds in its place. Firing a round into the sky, Ruby descended down the back of the Titan's body with incredible speed, slicing the Titan in two in a matter of seconds.

"She's right." Reiner called out. "He's too valuable to just let die. There's too much we can learn from him. I think it's perfectly clear that our priorities should be to help Ruby ward the scavengers off him. He's no good to us ripped apart."

"Are you out of your mind?" Jean objected instantly. He clearly did not see the benefit that would come from this Titan being alive and in one piece. "We've got a path out of this nightmare and you wanna stay?"

"Think about it. Having an Abnormal as an ally would be an incredible advantage, right? A cannon's got nothing on a Titan who likes to rip apart his own kind." Annie pointed out.

"Sorry, Jean. Looks like you're on your own in this matter." Blake remarked with a shrug of her shoulders. "But, if you're going to stay behind and watch, the least you could do is watch Ruby. You haven't seen what she can do yet."

"Incredible..." Mikasa stated breathlessly.

Ruby landed securely on the ground, with all of the Titan blood she'd accumulated on her clothing and weapon evaporating into vapour. But she didn't let that stop her. Performing a backflip, Ruby's boots met the blade of her scythe, and after firing several more rounds from the rifle barrel, her boots and hands encased Crescent Rose's shaft. She performed a mid-air forward spin, firing a few more rounds from her Gravity Dust magazine in order to generate speed. She created the image of a red discus as she dove into the weak spot of the other tall Titan eating the Rogue's right arm.

When the Titan fell to the ground, dead, she fired another round underneath her, propelling her onto what was left of the Rogue Titan's shoulder. Ruby dropped Crescent Rose on his shoulder, letting the blade impale his flesh while she landed beside her weapon. He didn't seem to be bothered by it, though. Surprisingly, he was more focused on her.

"This is why I told you to let me help! Look at you! You leave me behind for one minute and you've already been torn up!" Ruby slammed a kick to his face, frustrated beyond belief. He opened his mouth and roared weakly, as if to respond. "Don't roar at me! We both know I'm right!"

"RUBY!" Weiss screamed at her from the rooftop. "Stop yelling at him and start doing something about the others on his lower half!" she told Ruby.

Ruby peered down at the Titans eating the Rogue's legs. With a grin, Ruby hopped off of the Rogue Titan's shoulder. She was in the process of heaving her Crescent Rose over her shoulder when her descent was halted. She could hear several gasps from the others gathered on the rooftop. Ruby tilted her head up to see what had caught her, and wasn't too surprised to see that the Rogue Titan had caught her cloak in his mouth. She hung from his mouth, with the only thing to keep her sustained in the air being her cloak, most of which was between his teeth.

"What are you doing?" Ruby shouted at him. "Let me go! Do you want to lose your legs to those Titans?"

When she glared into his eyes, she noticed that the look in them simply said _"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."_. Ruby raised a brow, but didn't say anything. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she readied her Crescent Rose.

"It's... it's the Titan that ate Thomas!" Armin suddenly shouted. Once Ruby heard that, she noticed the skinny, blond, Abnormal Titan come into view.

The Rogue Titan started to struggle, tearing himself away from the Titans still pinning him to the wall. Once he broke free, he charged towards the Abnormal. The remaining Titans holding his legs fell off of him, crashing to the ground below.

The Abnormal that ate Thomas was caught off guard by the Rogue Titan racing towards it, with Ruby unintentionally accompanying him on the charge. During the sprint, he swiftly rotated his head around, swinging Ruby and giving her leverage to attack. His head quickly turned back and Ruby flew from his mouth once he released her cloak. Ruby spun horizontally towards the Abnormal, again forming the image of a red discus. In only several seconds, she decapitated the Abnormal, slicing through its neck as if she were a guillotine.

It took her a second or two to stop spinning. She had a brief spell of dizziness, shaking her head in an attempt to recover. Once her vision came back into focus, Ruby found that she had landed on one of Weiss' glyphs. On the glyph, Ruby rose to her feet and regained her battle-ready posture. She turned her attention back to the Rogue Titan.

As soon as she did that, she found the Rogue Titan sinking his teeth into the Abnormal's nape, biting into it with all the strength in his jaw. He raised up the now dead Abnormal, holding its slumped body with his teeth. His sudden attack left everyone questioning what they had just witnessed.

But they didn't get the chance to dwell on the fact. The other Titans around him began picking themselves up, intent on a 'round 2'. The Rogue immediately noticed their movement, and managed to manoeuvre with a spin, which caused the Abnormal to flip over. He used the Abnormal's corpse to attack, with its lower body landing on the smaller Titans. Behind him, another Titan rose to its feet, as if it was looking to finish what the other Titans had started. The Rogue Titan straightened back up and spun in place, using the Abnormal's limp body to shove the other Titan into a nearby building.

"Holy..." Jean breathed. Everyone's jaws were left agape, clearly horrified and a little bit in awe of that last attack.

The Rogue Titan then dropped the dead Abnormal he as holding between his teeth, and raised his head to the sky, letting out a last defiant roar. After her Crescent Rose returned to the back of her belt, Ruby hopped off of Weiss' glyph and landed softly on the Rogue's forehead. She gazed into his eyes, and could strangely tell that the Titan was staring back at her.

"What was that you were saying?" Jean asked, watching with everyone else as the Titan's body started twitching with what Ruby perceived to be pain. He collapsed to his knees and fell onto his side, Ruby falling with him. "Cause I think it's a mute point now."

Ruby didn't know what she was doing at this point, but she was concerned about the state that the Titan was in. Nothing had happened to his weak spot, so why did he seem like he was dying?

"What is she doing now?" Jean questioned, staring at Ruby from the rooftop. "Doesn't she know it's still dangerous on the ground?"

"I don't think that matters to her." Weiss told him.

"I suppose you're out of energy now, right?" Ruby asked after dusting herself off. He nodded slowly. "Will you be alright? Can't you regenerate? I mean, nothing happened to your weak spot, so you should be fine." Ruby placed her hand on the nose of her Titan friend, a soft smile on her face. As the flesh of the Rogue began to burn to a crisp, leaving only a giant skeleton behind, she saw one last thing in his eyes.

Familiarity.

And then his face decayed.

Ruby was stuck in a trance for a second, unable to move. So many questions were buzzing through her mind. The moment had left her confused and slightly disoriented. But it was during that trance that a thought struck her.

The weak spot.

Nothing had happened to his weak spot.

Ruby leapt to her feet and began sprinting towards the nape, which was the only part of it that hadn't decayed yet. Some of the flesh was still there, and surprisingly, there was someone fused to the carcass. As the figure sat up, Ruby tripped over, rolling repeatedly until she ended up right in front of him.

Eren.

Ruby's lip twitched as she smiled meekly at the unconscious form of Eren. He was the one fused to the carcass. And while even more questions twirled around Ruby's brain, a feeling of relief washed over her. She scrambled to her knees and leaned forward, planting her ear to his chest in order to check his heartbeat.

His heart was beating normally. He was alive.

"You're... you're alive..." Ruby smiled after she pulled away from him. Her body shook, and while tears stung at the corners of her eyes, she couldn't help but giggle at the turn of events. Eventually, her giggling evolved into laughter, and she redirected her gaze to Mikasa, Armin, Blake, and Weiss. "I've found him! I've finally found him!"

* * *

Once the group managed to get to higher ground, Ruby collapsed on the floor. She wasn't tired – no, not by a long shot. Rather, she was happy.

"Who'd have thought your new Titan friend was actually the one you were searching for all along?" Weiss peered down at Ruby, standing behind the girl.

"I told you he wasn't dead," Ruby replied chirpily. "I mean, I don't know how he survived _and_ grew his arm and leg back _and_ turned into a Titan, but at least I know he's here with us now; and that he's going to be fine." her eyelids dropped a bit, a softened expression portrayed on her face as she focused her attention on Eren. "So, what happened to Yang?"

"She ended up in a Titan's stomach. She wasn't in it for long, as she managed to punch her way out, but not before the amount of corpses and gore left an imprint on her mind. We think she may have post-traumatic stress, and apparently its not uncommon for some of the soldiers to become ill." Weiss explained, patting Ruby's head. "It started with coughs and headaches, but advanced to a fever and sudden flashbacks of what she witnessed just before she fell unconscious after what we thought was a panic attack. Blake believes the fever might be a result of her the fiery effects of her Semblance, since her emotions are bound to be unstable at the moment."

"You think she'll be alright?" Ruby swivelled her head round to look up at Weiss over her shoulder. She made a mental note to ask someone to help Blake get Yang elsewhere, where she would be safe and out of harm's way.

"Of course. This _is_ Yang we're talking about. You should know better than anyone that nothing other than death with keep her down." Weiss rolled her eyes and gave Ruby an upbeat smile, and Ruby nodded in return.

"I'll make sure to ask someone if they can help get Yang to the top of the wall, then." Ruby decided, but her smile faded when Weiss tilted her head.

"The top of the wall? But Blake and I thought the med bay would be the best option."

"I doubt they'd put the injured and people who need treatment in camps on the _ground_ , though. I mean, even if HQ's cleared, there's still Titans all around Trost, so their best bet would be to put those who need treating on higher ground, such as on top of the walls." Ruby rubbed Eren's shoulder gently. "Do any of you think that you'll be able to help Blake carry Yang up to the top of Wall Rose.

"I can do that." Jean was quick to jump at the opportunity.

"Sure." Blake nodded. "But Yang promised me to do something for her. I'll have to take her to see to the Commander of the Garrison Regiment. Or request to see him myself if Yang's not awake."

"Why do you need to see the Commander of the Garrison Regiment?" Ruby tilted her head.

"It's a long story." Blake scratched the back of her neck.

"We've got time." Ruby nodded her head at Blake, urging the girl to continue on.

"That Captain Voerman guy from this morning, the one that ran the assembly. You remember him?"

Ruby nodded again.

"Apparently, he has a bit of a reputation for cowardice. Yang thinks it might just be the fact that he's shellshocked, but he sacrificed the initial plan to save his own skin and hide behind Wall Rose. He ordered the supply team to stay and guard HQ while he made his escape. We're going to talk to the Commander of the Garrison Regiment about it. Or, at least, I am. Yang asked me to before she passed out." Blake folded her arms under her chest and rubbed one of her arms.

Ruby pursed her lips. "Okay..." she slowly nodded her head. She didn't push the subject. After all, Mikasa was still loudly sobbing beside her while she held Eren close to her. Her arms wrapped around his back, under his arms. His head laid over Mikasa's shoulder.

Armin knelt down beside Mikasa and gently grabbed Eren's wrist. He held Eren's hand, and intertwining his fingers with Eren's, Armin eyes began to water. "How is this... possible...?" he questioned, squeezing Eren's hand.

Jean turned around and gazed over the wall, viewing the carnage. Smoke arose from the skeletal corpses of the Titans that Eren had killed earlier, and there were more buildings that Ruby could count which were either torn down or partly destroyed by the Titans and Eren.

To put it simply, their surroundings were the picture of colossal devastation.

"So, uh... Eren did all this?"


	7. Chapter 7 – Actions Have Consequences

**{1.} Finally, Levi's appearing this chapter! I wonder how many people have been wanting Levi to appear in this story.**

 **{2.} I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but if you want, you can become a Beta Reader for this story! After all, I need all the help I can get if I want to improve my writing – and, by extension, this story.**

 **{3.} As Hange is a female in the anime, she will also be a female in this story. And yes, I am stating that because of Hange having no specific gender in the manga.**

 **{4.} I've been having these nagging concerns towards myself that I'm making Weiss seem a bit... out of character, to say the least. Like, she's not as strict, cold, or blunt about things as she normally would be. I didn't mean to make Weiss seem like that, if any of you do see her that way in this story. I try to make characters as in-character as possible.  
**

 **{5.} With Blake being the only Faunus (to be known) inside the walls, I don't think it would make that big of a deal in the long run. The main characters won't treat her differently when they find out about Blake's Faunus heritage. After all, she's human enough. The only people that will act differently are just the minor characters (i.e. the extra characters that aren't too important or the ones with no names and are therefore not in any way important apart from making the death toll rise).**

 **{6.} I'm so sorry for the wait. I hope you all can forgive me. I have been busy with writing other crossover fanfiction. I've also deleted a few previously published fanfics, including the former side-story to this, which was called 'Choices That Leave Regrets'. I'm sorry if you were reading that, by the way, but I decided not to have Summer Rose or Raven Branwen involved in the AoT storyline. I did previously involve them, for those who aren't aware. But I decided that it would help for Ruby to sympathise with Eren, and it may help to emphasise certain points later on in the story.**

* * *

 **Levi  
** _~ A few hours earlier, before the Titan attack on Trost ~_

* * *

"Heads up! The main unit of the Scout Regiment is back!"

"That's right, Commander Erwin! Did you give those ugly bastards a thrashing?!"

"Look! It's Captain Levi! They say he's like an entire brigade to himself!

"Spare me, please." Levi passed glances to the crowds of civilians and cadets lined up on either side of the street. They all cheered for him and the rest of the Scout Regiment, whilst the Scouts themselves trotted through the clearing on their horses.

"That scowl will crush your fans. Not that it's any of my business, but from a public relation standpoint, you might wanna lighten up." Hange told him. He merely stole a glimpse at her, refusing to acknowledge her comment. Levi redirected his attention on the large gate in front of him, which led outside Wall Rose. The rest of the Scouts stopped in front of it. Levi could sense that they were preparing themselves for what was on the other side. Hange clasped both of her hands together in delight: "Hello, the threshold of Titania! Can't you just envision the horrors in store for us, comrades? I'm on pins and needles! We bag an Abnormal, I'll burst with tears of joy!"

"I think we've bagged the craziest Abnormal already." Levi slyly commented. He watched from the corner of his eye as Hange rocked back and forth on her horse with excitement. Not that there would be anything exciting about it once they were outside.

Hange halted and sat upright on the saddle of her horse. She turned her head left and right, trying to find the Abnormal. She had taken Levi's remark seriously, no doubt. "What, seriously? Where?"

Levi's hand grabbed her head, his fingers gripping her ponytail as he pushed her face towards his. "I mean you."

"MOVE OUT!"

The gate opened, and the Scouts set off into the Titans' territory.

* * *

As Levi had expected, there were more than a few Titans around the abandoned village that they had been trying to reclaim. Though, it wasn't something that Levi couldn't handle on his own. Unfortunately for him, he had an entire team to look out for as well. His concentration had been split in two.

There was one of them nearby, with a soldier hanging from in-between its teeth at the waist. Levi grunted, knowing that the Titan was only chewing down on the bottom half of the soldier's body, yet the soldier couldn't seem to free himself. However, it was guaranteed that the soldier would still die, even if he was saved. Blood loss, kids.

Just as he was about to go and save the soldier, however, another Titan approached him. Levi sighed, knowing he couldn't just move past the Titan and expect there not to be consequences. With a deep exhale, Levi hopped from the roof and fired one of his wires at the side of the Titan's neck. He tried not to use too much of his gas as he propelled himself towards the nape. He reached a good height above the Titan's weak spot, retracted his wire, and spun. The sunlight glinted off his blades, creating a spinning discus out of himself as he dove forwards, slicing into the nape and producing two clean cuts. The Titan dropped to the ground and proceeded to decay shortly afterwards.

"One day... one day, you'll all just be a bad memory. Mankind will starve out all of you. Mark my words... the last ones standing... will be us!" the soldier stabbed his blade into the Titan's cheek. Aggravated, the Titan bit down on the soldier with more intensity, deepening the wound. "Gorge while you can, you bastard... just wait 'til Captain Levi—"

Once he landed back on a solid platform, Levi fired one of his wires at the wall of an observation tower that stood next to the Titan. The hook of it pierced the nape, but the wound was shallow. Levi leaped from his landing platform and spun with incredible speed towards the back of the Titan's neck. It took only a couple of seconds for him to slice open the Titan's nape and carve out the weak spot. After he did so, he came out of the spin and planted his feet down on another rooftop, his wire drawing back in as he landed. The limp body of the Titan crashed to the ground as Levi took a few steps across the tiles, sharply turning his head to observe the area and get a sense of the situation.

"One on the right, two on the left." He spoke to himself. By the time most of his team landed behind him, he'd already elected himself to take out the two Titans on the left. He'd rather it be himself with the bigger threat, since he didn't particularly trust anyone else not to get themselves killed facing more than one Titan.

"Captain!" Petra called out to him, Eld and Gunther behind her. "The reinforcements are here, sir!"

"Good. Tend to our comrade below, Petra. You two, take out the Titan to your right." he commanded, sharing brief eye contact with each of them. "The pair on the left belongs to me." Levi went on to inform them before he leaped off of the roof. He shot his wires forward again, travelling through the air as he advanced towards the two Titans.

"Captain, wait!" Petra attempted to call out to him. Even though he heard her voice, he ignored her. Petra often worried about things that seemed like nothing to Levi, and he'd learnt to ignore her.

Levi's attention was suddenly drawn away for a brief moment when he heard Hange's shouts from across the street. She was having fun again, it seemed. He grimaced and instead directed his focus to the Titans he was approaching.

"I know you probably can't help being hideous," Levi said, landing on the parapet of a building. He briskly walked towards the pair of giants, his eyes glaring daggers at the monstrosities. "But I can't help being tired of looking at you."

He fired a wire at the tower to the side of the nearest Titan. Jumping off of the roof and using his gas to launch himself higher, Levi spun himself around again, his blades spinning with him. He sliced the nape with perfect precision. The piece he carved out fell to the ground below, along with the Titan's limp body.

He refused to give himself a break. Levi planted one foot on a ledge of a wall and jumped back up again, raising his swords and releasing the blades from the handles. He launched the blades towards the eyes of the remaining Titan. The blades dived straight into the Titan's eyes and blinded it, causing it to clutch its eyes as it roared out in pain.

Levi landed on top of the Titan's bald head, wobbling slightly as the Titan shook with its roar. "Uh-oh. Easy there, big stuff. Nobody's got time for a cry-baby." Levi mused after he regained his balance (see, he could be humorous, too). He spun in place, before attaching a new set of blades to the empty sword handles and pulling out the fresh pair. "Let's take it like a man, shall we?"

Levi leapt into the air and spun again, letting his body gyrate as he dived towards the Titan's nape. He slashed the weak spot, carving out the nape. As the Titan fell, Levi almost dropped to the ground too. However, he fired a wire up and used his gas, somersaulting onto a roof and landing smoothly.

When he regained his posture and took the time to assess himself and his surroundings, he realized that he had gotten Titan blood on his hands. Levi lifted his hand up and examined it, glaring down at the slowly evaporating blood. It had stained the palm of his hand, as well as his sword handle.

"Disgusting," he remarked with bitterness. It was one thing being in an unclean place, and it was another matter to let himself be dirtied. With a grimace at the atrocious sight of the Titan blood on his hand, he proceeded to wipe the blood off.

Once he had finished cleaning his hand, he made a mental note to wash his napkin later and hopped from the rooftop, firing another wire with his gas propelling him. He began to make his way toward where he had sent Petra. When Petra came into view, Levi withdrew his wires and brought himself down to land nearby.

"Captain, I... I can't stop the bleeding." Petra said to him, rather panicked, as he approached. Levi looked down at her, and then at the wounded soldier.

"Captain... Levi..." the soldier breathed out.

Levi crouched down beside the soldier. "I'm here." he told the other man.

"Did this... make a difference...? Was I... was I helpful...?" The soldier raised his hand in the air. "Please, sir... don't tell me that this was for nothing..."

Levi grabbed the man's hand, allowing the soldier's blood to coat his palm. This was something he didn't mind dirtying his hands for. "We've made great strides today, soldier; and tomorrow; because of you. Your strength won't die with you. The torch will be carried on. By me. This is swear, on my very life! The Titans will be eradicated!"

Petra lowered her head and tilted it to her left. "Sir, I'm sorry, he's..." she couldn't even finish her sentence before she closed her eyes, a few lone tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Did the man hear what I had to say?" Levi asked, his gaze on Petra. "Any of it?"

Petra's eyes opened, and she returned Levi's gaze. Her attention was then directed toward the now deceased soldier. "Yes, sir. Matter of fact, I think he heard all of it. Look at him; that's a face at peace."

Levi closed his eyes and stood up. The sudden sound of horses snapped him out of his short-lived moment of grief, and he rotated in place, only to find Erwin on his horse with his men accompanying him.

"Levi!" Erwin addressed the Captain as his white stallion grinded to a halt. "We're pulling out."

"Sir?" Petra questioned in confusion. She rose to her feet.

"What do you mean? You damn well know that we can push further. My men didn't die to pave our retreat." Levi responded, aiming a vicious glare at Erwin. The man showed no reaction to Levi's vented frustration; probably because he was so used to being on the receiving end of Levi's anger.

"There's a swarm of Titans moving north. They're bearing down on the city." Erwin informed them. Levi's glare faded, and Petra's jaw was left agape. Erwin ignored their expressions, and turned his head in the direction of the walls. "It's just like five years ago. Something tells me this is going to be bad. For all we know, the wall's already been reduced to rubble. There's also been reports of four outlandish girls that appeared on the wall just before the attack happened."

"You mean like outsiders?" Petra asked, seemingly more stunned by the news of the girls.

"Yes. And from what I have heard, they're fighting against the Titans as we speak. It seems that they're fighting on our side; for now, anyway."

* * *

 **Blake Belladonna  
** _~ Now, during the attack on Trost ~_

* * *

Blake had spent the last few minutes, probably even half an hour, with the ribbon of her Gambol Shroud wrapped around Jean's waist and her other arm keeping the stretcher Yang was laid on steady and balanced whilst she was pulled towards the top of the wall after Jean, who was using his ODM Gear to help her get there with Yang. It was tough, since there weren't any lifts they could have used, and she often wondered if the ribbon around Jean's waist was crushing his diaphragm.

Once Jean disappeared at the top of the wall, there was a slight pause, and then Jean's hand came into view and heaved on the ribbon, pulling both girls up towards the top of the wall. Once she reached the top, Blake heaved the stretcher up and dropped it on the top of the wall. After she had pushed Yang's stretcher further away from the edge, she grunted and climbed up herself, tugging her weapon and releasing Jean's waist. Once on the top, Blake collapsed onto her front side. Thankfully, she could still move and talk.

When Jean approached Blake and held out his hand for her, which she gratefully took and pulled herself up, she found that plenty of people were staring at her, dumbfounded and perplexed. One of them was a man that had a relatively old appearance due to the wrinkles present on his face. He had a bald head, but a grey moustache made up for the lack of hair on his head. Not only was he significantly older than the rest of the soldiers she'd seen or met so far, but he also gave her the vibe of being more experienced than the other soldiers, too. Blake knew that the man was a significant person in the military, too, as he wore a red sash with golden trims over his torso and back. The red sash itself hung from one of his shoulders. Other than that, he had the same Garrison Regiment uniform and was equipped with the same gear.

"And what do we have here?" the man asked, a smile on his face as he regarded Blake. His eyes were narrowed, but it seemed to be the way his eyes looked.

He took a step toward Blake, but one of the other Garrison soldiers called out to warn him against approaching her: "If I may, sir, I don't think it would be wise for you to go near her. She has a weapon in her hand. She could attack you."

"I'm not a ruthless animal. I don't attack people for no reason." Blake sheathed her weapon and waved her arms dismissively. "My name is Blake Belladonna. I'm one of the outsiders who ended up here this morning. My teammates and I have been helping the cadets in their battle against the Titans. You can ask any of them if you want to confirm what I'm saying." Blake lowered her arms and instead motioned to Yang. "I was told by my team leader, Ruby, to bring my team partner, Yang, up here for safety while she's recovering and being treated. She ended up in a Titan's stomach whilst defending Headquarters from the Titans surrounding it earlier on today. I know it sounds crazy; but she managed to escape the stomach of a Titan that had swallowed her whole. She's sick, and we have a good feeling that she may be suffering from post-traumatic stress and it's making her ill." Blake's shoulders hunched as she put on a brave facade. They may all be older and more experienced than her, but she wasn't one to crack under pressure. Especially when it was about creating a good first impression in front of humans.

"And you came up here carrying her?" the old man inquired further. He reached into the inside pocket of his brown jacket and pulled out a circular silver flask. Taking a swig of whatever he stored in his flask, his eyes regarded Blake for a moment. Blake knew he was studying her by her body language and expression.

"Yes, but Jean helped to transport us both up here." Blake straightened her posture and nodded.

"And where are the other members of your team? I've heard there are four of you, correct?" he asked.

"Yes, there are. There's me, Yang, and two other girls called Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. Weiss is another teammate of mine with white hair and a distinctive scar over her left eye, and as said before, Ruby is our team leader, but she's two years younger than us. Ruby is the one that has silver eyes and wears a red cloak with a hood, and you'll usually see her wielding a large red and black scythe." Blake explained, ignoring the stunned gazes everyone aimed at her. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Sorry. I realise those descriptions may be a lot for you guys to take in, and that it would be a bit hard to believe for you all, but you'll be able to meet them yourselves and see that I'm telling the truth. Weiss and Ruby are currently with a cadet by the name of Eren Jaeger. They should still be with him. If he or his friends are in trouble, neither Ruby nor Weiss would leave them, even if they were told to."

The old man nodded his head. "Alright; I'll take your word for now." he turned to the woman standing beside him. "Anka, go and fetch one of the medics currently available. I can see that Yang here is in need of aid and medicine."

"Yes, sir." Anka nodded, performed the military salute, and twirled on her heel.

Once the woman, Anka, had left, Blake stepped toward the old man. "I assume you're the Commander of the Garrison Regiment?"

"Yes. My name is Dot Pixis. But since you're not one of my men, you can just call me Pixis." he introduced himself with a smile. "Is there something else you wanted from me or my regiment?"

"No; I don't think so. But there is something that concerns one of your soldiers that you must know about." Blake said, folding her hands over in front of her lap. "It involves Captain Kittz Voerman. I promised Yang that I would make sure justice is served for his crime of desertion during the battle of Trost."

"Desertion? That's a very serious accusation, but not one I haven't heard before in regards to Voerman." Pixis responded, before taking another drink from his flask. "Tell me, what evidence do you have to support this?"

"He ordered the supply team to stay inside HQ whilst he made his escape behind Wall Rose. He told the soldiers that he had a supposed job behind the inner gate. He also threatened the supply team with charges of treason when they tried to stop him." Blake informed the Commander. "Yang found out when she went out to kill as many Titans surrounding HQ as she could. Voerman's order for the supply team to stay inside the Garrison compromised the plan to resupply the recruits and endangered countless more lives." she pointed out, trying to remain calm. "I realise that everyone's lives are at stake when battling against Titans, but any person with common sense and a conscience would know that a coward that puts his own life above the lives of those who serve under him is not fit to lead in the military, even if he is suffering from shellshock."

"I agree. Looking back on it now, I don't know what possessed me to keep him around. I thought it was the fact that he was willing to use any means necessary to make people fight for their own lives, but I suppose now that anyone could do that." Pixis cupped his chin with his index finger and thumb. "And the supply team is alive to tell the story?"

"Yes. I made sure none of them died before getting to talk to you about this matter." Blake nodded.

"Good. I shall see Voerman and keep him imprisoned for the time being until I get a full report of the incident." He nodded his head. He paused for a moment, as if contemplating something, before his eyes met Blake's again. "By the way, you mentioned something about a cadet Eren Jaeger?"

"Yes. I was saying that my other two teammates should be with him." Blake light-heartedly shrugged her shoulders. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm sure you must have at least heard of what happened in the last hour or so at the Garrison. Apparently cadet Jaeger came out of a Titan carcass."

"Ah. Yes, I am aware of that. I was there at the time, though I don't understand how he can transform into a Titan. All I know is that my team and I are happy that he's alive."

"I'm sure you must be. I wouldn't hold it against you if you have any questions of your own about his ability."

"I do; but from what I've seen, I get the gist that you're as lost as I am." Blake tilted her head. "I assume he's going to be put under investigation, since nobody in the military understands his ability?"

"It's likely that he will, should he not be killed first by Voerman." Pixis comfortably held his hands behind his back.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Voerman, of all people, has—?!" Blake's voice rose, but she was cut off by the loud sound of an explosion that had occurred somewhere nearby. The sound of the explosion was quickly followed by a flash of yellow lightning and smoke rising in the distance.

"Commander, sir!"

Three soldiers sprinted towards the group, all appearing to be somewhat panicked and scared.

"Who fired that cannon?" the Commander questioned.

"Captain Voerman did, sir! The Captain has captured what was reported to be a boy that can somehow shapeshift into a Titan!" one of the messengers informed them. "Captain Dietrich requested us to send for you, sir!"

"I knew he would do something like that." Blake clenched her fists. She bit her thumb nail through gritted teeth, before approaching the three soldiers. "Was there a girl in a red cloak with him?"

"Yes. She was accompanied by a girl with white hair and a distinctive scar over her left eye."

"So Weiss and Ruby are still with them." Blake tapped her chin. "And what of Eren? Judging from the flash of lightning, I suppose he's conscious?"

"Yes. He managed to come to his senses. Though, when he did, he muttered something along the lines of _"You're all gonna die."_. It was presumed he was referring to the team that Captain Voerman has stationed there to keep the boy captive."

"I assume Eren wouldn't say that to someone of a higher rank, if the way he acted this morning is anything to go by. It's entirely possible that Voerman misunderstood. The likely conclusion would be that Eren had a flashback of when he first transformed, and ended up confusing the memory with his present situation; hence the outburst."

"Knowing that, can you vouch for cadet Jaeger?" the Commander asked, turning to Blake.

Blake hesitated and tensed up, but eventually shook her head. "Not for his Titan ability. But if we're talking about Eren as a person, I think what I saw of him this morning should be enough for me to back him up. And, if there's one thing I know for certain, it's that his power, with practiced control, can be used effectively in the fight against the Titans."

* * *

 **Armin Arlert**

* * *

Armin slowly opened his eyes, anxious and terrified of what he would see. He had expected to be blown to bits by that cannon, but the ringing in his ears, and the fact that he was still breathing, proved that the attack from Captain Voerman had failed or been blocked. The turn of events was surprising, to say the least. Not more so than the giant top half of the Titan he had found himself inside of, but close enough. On the bright side, he, Mikasa, Ruby, and Weiss were all alive and miraculously still in one piece. However, Eren was nowhere to be seen.

His breaths were laboured, and the heat of the Titan's ribcage surrounding him was making him uncomfortable in his own clothes. Wasn't there something cold he could use to cool down? He was tempted to hold onto Weiss to see if she was as cold as her icy appearance suggested, but decided against it, seeing as how Weiss would be on alert and ready to attack or defend at any given moment until the smoke cleared.

It took a brief moment for the smoke and steam to disappear inside of the ribcage. Once it did, he could finally see clearly. His eyes frantically searched his surroundings for his friends. Mikasa was crouched beside him, her swords in hand, should they need to be used. Weiss was also sat a few feet away from him, with fairly big ice shards surrounding her and Ruby. Ruby was sat just in front of Weiss, trying to cover herself with her cloak, her hood on her head. Even with the four of them in here, there was still plenty of space for them to stand, move, or to fit in a few more people.

The top half of the Titan body had no skin; it was merely constructed of flesh and bones. The Titan appeared to be supported by the spinal column, which was impaled into the ground, and quite deeply at that. It only had the half of one arm, which was raised as if it had tried to block something. Flesh had grown over the Titan's chest, but stopped growing in the middle, just above where the ribcage started.

Given the fact that Eren could apparently transform into a Titan, Armin supposed that this was the least his childhood friend would be able to do.

The head of the Titan, constructed of only the skull and its eyeballs, moved ever so slightly. The sudden movement, however slight it had been, caused several pieces of bone to fall around Armin and Mikasa. It was a miracle that none of the bone fragments hit them.

But there was still one problem: "Where's Eren?"

"Armin! Mikasa! Ruby! Weiss!" the familiar voice erupted from behind the smoke, which hid the ribcage from the view of Captain Voerman. Footfalls were audible until Eren appeared in the entryway of the giant ribcage. "Hey! Are you guys alright?!"

"E-Eren?" Armin stuttered in shock. "How'd you—?"

"I don't know!" Eren interrupted him. "But look, it's already starting to vaporize – just like the corpse of a Titan!"

Eren was right. Now that he'd appeared, the Titan body was starting to break apart and burn away. The bones and flesh were in the process of vaporising into thin air, though the process was agonisingly slow.

"Let's get out of here!" Eren directed the four of them, pivoting in place. He stopped and stared out of the smoke. "Hard to tell if they're watching and waiting, or just totally dazed. I suppose it doesn't matter much either way. I'm sure once the smoke clears, they'll resume the attack." he ascertained.

Mikasa rose to her feet, and Eren turned to her. Armin stood up too, as did Weiss and Ruby, and they all exited the ribcage. It later occurred to Armin – about half a minute after they were out – that there was still a lot of smoke around, and that it wouldn't be going away anytime soon. In fact, the smoke was very thick, and concealed a much larger area than just the currently vaporising half-built Titan.

"After seeing this, I think we've blown any hope of reasoning with them." Eren's hand traced to the key hanging on the thread around his neck. Surprisingly, Armin had never noticed him wearing that before now. "The cellar... I'm starting to remember: this key; our house in Shiganshina. My father said I'd have to go back there. Everything hinged on it. I think it's why he gave me the power to transform. If I can make it back to our cellar, I might learn the Titans' secret!" he began to divulge, almost as if he had no control over the words flowing out of his mouth. All of a sudden, Eren punched one of the ribs. The force of the strike was enough to leave dented cracks in the bone. In his peripheral view, Armin could have sworn he'd seen Weiss looking on with a troubled expression. "Why did he keep this stuff secret?! How many thousands of Scouts have already died because my father didn't share this information?! It could be the last chance humanity has! And the answer's been hidden away under our house this entire time? Is he insane?! Damn him!"

"Eren," Mikasa planted a steady hand on Eren's shoulder. "We have other business to deal with."

"Right."

The five of them took their seats in a circle formation. When they did so, the arm and skull of the decaying Titan broke off, collapsing and shattering when it landed on the ground. It created even more smoke, which in turn gave the five a bit more time to form some sort of plan.

"Listen; I'm getting out of here." Eren announced.

Both Mikasa's and Armin's jaws were left agape. Weiss' eyes widened and she leaned forward. Ruby immediately grabbed a hold of Eren's arm.

"Where? And how?" Armin inquired.

"Anywhere but here." Eren replied, rather curt and blunt. "Then I head over the wall and straight to Shiganshina. But I'll have to become a Titan again."

"You can transform at will?" Armin questioned, furthering his disbelief.

"To be honest, I don't know how I'm doing it, Armin. I just know that I can. It's hard to put into words, but I must be like a reflexive, see?" Eren's gaze was firmly transfixed on his hand, which he was holding a couple of inches away from his face. "In that moment, my mind subconsciously focused on stopping the cannonball. That's why it's decaying. It only had the endurance to meet that task."

"Is it just me, or is this getting more confusing the more I listen?" Weiss leaned closer to Armin, whispering to him.

"I suppose it's natural, in this situation." Armin told her, also in a hushed tone. "But I feel like more of our questions will be answered if we listen."

The more Eren talked, the more erratic his breathing appeared to be. He was also going pale. Was this a side-effect of using his Titan shapeshifting ability? Or was his exhaustion getting to him? Either way, it was a cause for concern.

"Next time I'll be stronger!" Eren growled, despite his apparent breathlessness. "I'll be a fifteen-metre high Titan slayer, just like I was before!"

Eren's nose then started to bleed, which even surprised Eren himself.

"Eren!" Mikasa cut in, her concern for Eren unhinged. "Your nose is—"

Eren wiped the blood from the fold above his lips, leaving a smudge of red where the blood trail used to be. There was something wrong with Eren.

"Your breathing is erratic and you're pale. Something's wrong, Eren; you're not well!" Armin pointed out.

Eren wiped away the rest of the blood from his nose. "As things stand, my health is irrelevant. But I have two ideas."

"Your health certainly isn't irrelevant. I don't want you to come down with the same bug that Yang's suffering with. Looking after two sick people is too much for me!" Ruby lowered her head.

Weiss smacked her teammate around the back of her head. "Calm down! We can get Eren checked to see if he's got the same sickness Yang caught if and when we get out of this mess. Provided he doesn't run off first." she advised Ruby. Weiss slid the palm of her hand under Ruby's chin and lifted the girl's head up. "But go on; what were the ideas you were going to tell us about?"

Armin didn't like where this was going. If one of those ideas was a plan to escape Trost, Mikasa would surely want to follow Eren. Armin knew that Mikasa intended to fulfil her promise on going wherever Eren went. And he knew more than anyone that there was no stopping Mikasa when she had her mind set on something, especially when it came to Eren. There was also the possibility that Ruby would take off with Mikasa. That would leave Armin and Weiss alone. They would be left here to fend for themselves, and neither he nor Weiss had hope of being able to reason with Captain Voerman without gambling against certain death.

Not unless a miracle were to happen, at least.

"You two could make it out of here alive if you stopped trying to protect me. I've brought you nothing but trouble as it is. I'm doing this on my own from this point forward." Eren declared, aiming the statement at Mikasa and Armin.

Armin had guessed correctly.

"Y-You're... you're kidding..." Armin mumbled in disbelief. "But—"

"Eren," Mikasa interrupted Armin. "I'm coming too."

And there was the kicker.

"No way." Eren instantly denied.

"I plan to follow you whether you give me permission to or not." Mikasa argued back, defiant. "I swear, I'll never leave your side."

"Mikasa, stop it! I'm being serious here! I'm not your little brother, and I'm not some snot-nosed toddler!"

"Guys, this isn't the time to be fighting!" Ruby attempted to be the peacekeeper. She shifted closer to Mikasa and Eren, who had now devolved into an actual argument.

Armin's gaze fell to the ground, and Eren's and Mikasa's arguing voices were drowned out. He needed to process and think. He needed to use his extensive knowledge and intellect to analyse how things stood for them, and come up with at least a few ideas.

His eyes landed on Weiss, and he kept an eye on her for a brief moment. Her eyes were darting around, as if she was analysing the situation and possibilities. She was a tactical person too, it seemed. If they made it out of this situation alive, Armin would love to get to know her better and learn more about what her own thought process was like. Perhaps they shared more in common than he had previously thought!

 _'As it stands, the Garrison Regiment isn't ready to assault our position yet. If they were, Mikasa would've reacted faster than a stray cat.'_ He shook his head and released those thoughts from his mind. He shouldn't be thinking of that when the Garrison Regiment was still waiting, and probably ready to fire that cannon again at any moment. _'I would assume they have a well-trained artillery crew above us. That cannon aught to be reloaded in the next twenty seconds.'_ Armin mentally deduced. The inward presumption was welcomed by the overwhelming feeling of dread, but it was soon replaced when his gaze landed on Eren. _'Eren will most likely spring into action and be long gone before that happens.'_

A flashback image of Eren and Mikasa having to beat up Armin's bullies from years ago suddenly appeared in his mind. Armin was left confused at the out-of-context memory. However, his confusion warped into depression when he remembered the number of times he'd had to be saved by Eren and Mikasa, and how he could never consider himself as their equal. He was always the one that was saved by his friends, but could never manage to repay his friends by saving them.

 _'Why am I thinking of something like that at a time like this? Is it... is it because... this is the end for us...?'_

Another flashback struck his mind, this time showing Armin himself hiding in a corner. His back was against a wall, next to a large wooden box, while Eren and Mikasa fought off the boys who used to bully him – the kids were killed when the Colossal Titan first appeared five years ago, which was one thing that Armin was admittedly thankful for. Next was a flashback image of Eren and Mikasa smiling down at him; Eren holding his hand out to help Armin up, bruises and scratches patterning his face. It was proof that Eren had a harder time with fighting the boys than Mikasa did.

 _'When it's all said and done, at the moment of truth, I was a coward. The same as right now.'_ Another flashback clouded his mind. Eren was holding Armin's hand as they walked down the street, Mikasa beside them. _'I can't count the number of times they've come to my rescue. I was always so weak, I could never reciprocate the favour. Even Weiss had to push herself above and beyond for my sake.'_

More recent flashbacks of the times when Weiss had saved him, helped him, and gave him hope throughout the day sprung into his mind. His final flashback was also recent: it was Weiss, just after she injured herself and yet still went out of her way in order to protect Armin from a Titan.

 _'I still haven't earned the right to think of myself as their equal. I can't afford to try and repay their kindness by going with them. I'd only keep on slowing them down.'_

With that thought lodged in his mind, Armin lightly dropped, sitting on the backs of his lower legs. Armin's hair fluttered in the gentle draft of the wind.

"Listen, I won't—"

"Just wait a second, would you? If you recall, I said I had _two_ ideas." the sound of Eren's voice managed to come back into focus. Armin's ears twitched. "Armin, I trust you to make the right decision."

At the sound of his name, Armin suddenly lifted his head. He shared at least five seconds of eye contact with Eren. From the look in his eyes, Armin determined that Eren knew where he was going with that sentence. Armin, of course, didn't have a clue.

"Now here me out; and yes, I'm aware of how unrealistic this plan is. The best case scenario, I try to use my Titan ability strategically, under military direction. This might sound crazy, but if you think you can convince the Garrison Regiment, right here and now, that I present no threat to them, I'll trust you and we'll go with that option. Think you can get it done?" Eren suggested. Armin almost had a heart attack when he realised that this plan would allow him the chance to finally save his friends – just like they had saved him. The problem? It put more than enough pressure on Armin's shoulders. Eren seemed to notice that. "Listen, we'll respect your opinion either way." he attempted to comfort Armin.

"Eren... why would you leave such a major decision up to me?" Armin questioned. He failed to see himself as a significant person, even in the military. It was a miracle that he was still alive, in part to everyone else's hard work to save him: particularly Weiss'. Why would someone leave him to make that kind of decision? Armin had to question if the ability to transform into a Titan had done something to Eren's head.

"Because you keep a level head. You always choose well, no matter how ugly things get." Eren answered, responding with a smile to add. His tone of voice suggested that he couldn't believe Armin hadn't realized that yet. "I figure that's worth relying on."

"When have I done that?" Armin asked, confused. He couldn't remember ever having a level head in any ugly situation; especially one that the three of them had been in the middle of.

"Come on, you do it all the time. Take five years ago. If you hadn't gone for Mister Hannes for help, Mikasa and I would've been eaten by the Titans." Eren pointed out. His smile never left his face.

"Who's Mister Hannes?" Ruby asked.

"He's one of the soldiers in the Garrison Regiment. He usually looked out for us when we were kids." Mikasa explained. Armin could feel the shift in the air of Mikasa's tension slipping away. Maybe one look at Ruby was all Mikasa needed to calm down. "He's still alive, actually. We could introduce you to him if and when we get the chance."

"Okay!" Ruby's mouth curved into a closed-eye smile, excited.

The spine of the Titan cracked, and it snapped off, detaching from the rest of the body. It carried some of the ribcage with it as it crashed on the ground behind Armin, creating a strong breeze in the process. In that same moment, the sudden realization hit Armin like a train: he had, in fact, saved Eren and Mikasa before. He'd indirectly saved them from what would have been certain death.

 _'That's how you see me? You don't think I'm a poor excuse for a friend? I had convinced myself that... I was just a burden to all of you...'_

Tears started to well up in Armin's eyes while he hung his head low. His lips trembled, though he tried as hard as he could to not cry. He'd been crying so much recently, and he'd have to stop at some point. Armin wanted to be... stronger, if anything. He wanted to be a more stable soldier, instead of someone who cried a lot and had to be comforted every time he was in shock or traumatised or thinking about whether or not he would die on the battlefield.  
 _  
'But you never... you never thought of me that way at all. Eren and Mikasa have enough faith in me to put their lives in my hands. And I have complete trust in the two of them, more than anyone else in this world. And that fact alone... is all the convincing I need!'_

Armin suddenly rose to his feet. He stood up in front of Eren and Mikasa, both of whom were surprised at the out-of-the-blue action. Ruby looked up at Armin with a knowing smile. Weiss gazed up at him with worry and caution present in her eyes.

"I _will_ persuade them, trust me. You three just act as non-aggressively as you can, agreed?"

Eren smiled again and nodded his head. Mikasa nodded after him, a barely-there smile gracing her lips. With another closed-eye smile, Ruby agreed too.

"And... Weiss." Armin turned in Weiss' direction. "Thank you."

Leaving Weiss in an apparent state of confusion, Armin spun on his heel, walking briskly towards the exit out of the smoke.

 _'Since Eren first appeared and fought as a Titan, something has been gnawing at the back of my mind. I haven't had a chance to collect my thoughts yet, but I can do this. I'll just have to think as I talk!'  
_  
He took swift strides across the stone, all the while releasing his ODM Gear from its placement. Armin advanced quicker as the metal clashed against the ground, all dividing into separate pieces like it was supposed to.

Armin rushed out of the smoke and into the clearing, his arms crossed over his face to shield himself from the large amount of steam.

Captain Voerman raised both of his hands up and waved them in front of him, motioning for Armin to stop. "HALT! HALT!" he shouted. The soldiers aimed their muskets and raised their swords.

Armin put one foot forward to halt his approach after coming out of the wall of smoke, skidding as he came to a stop. In order to show he didn't mean any harm towards the group of soldiers, he raised his hands in the air.

"Is this supposed to be your true form, monster?! I don't buy it! If I give the signal to fire, I mean it!" Captain Voerman yelled incoherently.

"Eren is not a foe of humanity! We're willing to co-operate with military command, and share everything we've learned about his powers!" Armin spoke up in an attempt to reason with the fatally irrational Captain. After his earlier actions, it became clear to Armin that Voerman was definitely acting on fear rather than actual logic.

"Your pleas fall on deaf ears! He revealed his true form, and because of that threat, he cannot leave here alive!" the Captain spat with fear-driven anger, clenching his fist with the determination that he was going to kill Eren. Even Armin knew he wasn't allowed to, considering he wasn't a Commander. He couldn't just kill another soldier because of his own insecurity and lack of rationality. "If you insist he's not an enemy of ours, then show me proof! Otherwise we'll blast him back to whatever nightmare he crawled out of!"

"You don't need any proof!" Armin retorted. _'That's right! There's no need at all!'_ "The fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter what we perceive him to be!" Armin shouted.

"W-What?!"

"The reports say hundreds of soldiers saw him! And those who were there say they saw him fighting other Titans! And that means they saw him get swarmed by the Titans as well!" Armin pointed out, leaving all of the other soldiers in a trance. Apparently, unlike the Captain, they still had their logic and rationality. Kittz didn't understand that point. He hadn't seen Eren killing the other Titans and being cannibalised by them. "To put it plainly, the Titans saw him the same way they see each and every human being: as their prey! And it doesn't matter how else you may look at it! That is an irrefutable fact!" Armin continued to bellow to the soldiers, his reasoning perfectly logical.

"The kid's got a point," one soldier said.

Many whispers travelled through the row of soldiers that stood before him, all apparently taking Armin's side. Captain Voerman's head spun in all directions, unable to cope with the number of people that had lowered their swords and guns.

"PREPARE TO ATTACK!" Kittz screamed out to his men. The sudden order left Armin in a deep state of shock, and it was the same with the other soldiers with his command. "Don't let yourselves be deceived by his cunning lies!"

Of course he would say that. Why wouldn't he? He was irrational to the point where he would dispute any facts about the situation. Would saying that Armin was lying be out of the question? No.

 _'It's hopeless. He let logic give way to hysteria, too frightened to think it through.'_

Armin glanced over his shoulder at Eren, Mikasa, Ruby, and Weiss. An expression of pure horror was written on his face and in his eyes. He didn't want to fail them! he couldn't fail them! All their lives were riding on this!

After receiving a nod from Eren and Weiss, Armin spun back to face Captain Voerman. He balled his hands and slammed his right fist over his chest.

"I am a soldier! And I have dedicated my heart to the restoration of humanity, sir! Nothing can make me prouder than dying for such a noble cause! If we were to use his Titan ability, and combine it with the manpower we have left, I believe we can do it! We can retake this city! For humanity's glory, and what little time I have left to live, I will abrogate his strategic value!"

All was silent. Shocked faces surrounded Armin, all either horrified or caught off guard – even combinations of both weren't uncommon. No one could believe what he had just blurted out on accident. Some even appeared to be terrified of Armin. Armin could sympathise: he was terrified of himself, really. He had never had to project his voice in such loud manner when trying to get a point across before.

"Captain Voerman," Captain Dietrich said, "his words are worth considering, sir. Maybe we should—"

"QUIET!"

Voerman raised his arm, and Armin's jaw dropped.

No!

NO!

This wasn't supposed to happen!

But just when Armin had given up all hope, a familiar shout came from behind the Captain, accompanied by a weak and pale hand that grabbed his hand tightly and with ferocity.

"HEY!" the voice was Yang's. It was raspy, but Armin knew it was hers. Yang stepped out from behind the Captain, her face too pale for comfort, and eyes a deep crimson colour. "Leave them alone. I thought you were bad enough deserting your soldiers at HQ and causing the plan to resupply to go belly-up, but your threats to kill my little sister, my teammate, and our friends has pushed me to my boiling point faster than my own post-traumatic stress after being eaten by a Titan has." Yang declared, her grip on Captain Voerman's arm becoming bone-breaking.

Captain Voerman was deeply horrified when he stared over his shoulder, seeing the girl's appearance. "W-Who are you?! Are you another one of those damn outsiders?! I'll have you executed without a second thought!" the Captain hastily responded, bluff after bluff.

"Yang?!" Armin questioned loudly. "What are you doing here? You're sick! You should be resting!"

"My health is irrelevant to me at the moment, Armin. The fact that I'm doesn't matter. I'm not just going to lie around while someone who prioritises his own life more than the lives of his soldiers walks free, thinking he can get away with doing whatever he wants just because of the trauma of being on the field." Yang uttered, her tone bitter and laced with venom. "Let me give you some advice, Captain: start acting like you deserve your rank. My little sister is fifteen years old and only has a few hours experience with fighting Titans, but even she has more spirit and bravery than you've shown in probably all your years of being in the military. And what's more, she's a better team leader than you will _ever_ be outside of a dark dungeon cell, awaiting a trial for desertion."

"Yang! You shouldn't go off on your own when you're sick! You may be ill because of your post-traumatic stress, but that doesn't mean you're well enough to take action in these kinds of situations!" Blake's voice echoed behind them. Blake approached with a short jog, then accompanied by the Commander of the Garrison Regiment, Dot Pixis. Armin's jaw dropped when he saw that a majority of the rest of the Garrison Regiment were with them as well.

"Maybe now you'll think twice about hurting innocent people that really want to help save humanity." Yang remarked, shooting a glare at the horrified Captain. "I understand being hysterical in times like this, but I can't accept excuses when your actions endangered the lives of the recruits that we tried hard to help and save. The military would function better without someone that severely lacks rational thought."

"You have no right to execute innocent people, either. You're overstepping your level of authority if you think it's okay to kill other soldiers and not expect there to have consequences." Weiss' shrill shout came from beside Armin. Since when was Weiss there? How long had she been there? "But then again, as someone who deserts his own soldiers at the first sign of danger, I guess you don't really care about who lives or dies on your watch. All you care about is saving yourself, isn't that right?"

"I won't ask again! Who are you?! What do you know about me?!"

"Enough to know that you ran to the interior of Wall Rose with your tail between your legs. Yang may have already made you aware of this, but your order for the supply team to stay inside the Garrison compromised the mission to resupply. The number of casualties increased because more of the recruits had to make their way to HQ themselves." Blake responded, her voice loud enough for every other soldier in the vicinity to hear. "Actions have consequences, Voerman. What you did to save your own skin is unforgivable, as far as I see it. People paid a heavy price because you couldn't handle being in danger. And as a result, we're going to take you off the front lines for good."

"Oh, come on!" Ruby dashed out of the smoke, skidding to a halt beside Weiss. "You couldn't tell me that earlier? I'd have shot him sooner!"

"And that's exactly why we didn't tell you!" Weiss whacked Ruby over the head again.

"Commander, what would you like me to do with this hypocrite?" Blake then asked Commander Pixis. Yang suddenly pulled down the Captain's arm. Voerman's scream of pain echoed throughout the area, and Weiss and Armin winced when they heard his shoulder dislocate.

"Secure him and take him away. I have more than a few complaints from the soldiers you deserted, Voerman." the Commander declared.

"S-Sir?!" Voerman objected. "You would really trust these outsiders instead of one of your own men?!"

"Voerman, I assure you, these kids are trying to help save humanity by keeping themselves alive." Commander Pixis argued sternly, letting everyone watch as Captain Voerman's face turned as white as Weiss' hair. "And in any case, you are no longer one of my men. I already agreed on the decision to have you discharged and answer for your crimes of desertion. We are currently investigating further into what exactly happened at Headquarters with you and the supply team. We'll have a full report of it by the end of the day."

Armin dropped his salute and fell to his knees.

They were going to live!

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

"So, that's that. Visiting that cellar should clear everything up then?" the Commander asked, his back facing the group.

"Yes, sir." Eren answered, appearing to be exhausted; or in a daze. "At least, I think so."

"For the moment, there is no way to validate the claims that you've all made. For now, I'll just catalogue them in here." Commander Pixis replied, turning his head to see the six of them. With his index finger, he tapped the side of his head. "With that said, I can usually tell the difference between the unctuous and the sincere, which is why I personally guarantee the safety of all of you."

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa breathed a brief sigh of relief. Ruby placed a hand to her chest, letting an exhale escape her lips. Weiss and Blake were previously tensed up, but afterwards, they relaxed and smiled.

"I see your friend Yang is up and about." the Commander remarked. His gaze was directed to his left-hand side. Just a couple feet away, a medic was letting Yang drink from a bottle of water. Yang was sat on the concrete. Next to Yang's foot was a bottle of liquidised medicine. Yang was still fairly pale, but that was probably because she hadn't yet eaten anything, and was likely low on energy. Commander Pixis returned his vision to Ruby. "I assume you're her sister?"

"Yes!" Ruby nodded her head, suddenly tense. "Can they say how long it'll take for Yang to recover?"

"At best, it should only take a few days. If her immune system is as strong as the medic says it is, then she'll recover fully in a range of two to five days." Commander Pixis informed her. His mouth formed a smile that only her father and her Uncle Qrow showed around her and Yang. "Tell me, how'd you come to be the leader of your team?"

"We were set into teams depending on who we worked best with in the initiation process when we entered Beacon Academy, a school for huntsmen and huntresses in our world. Our team name is R-W-B-Y, for Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, but it's pronounced 'Ruby'. Anyway, the person whose name comes first in the team name is chosen as the team leader." Ruby explained as fast as she could, but somehow she knew that everyone knew what she was saying.

The Commander nodded his head, but if there was something more he wanted to say, he didn't say it. Rather, his attention was then directed towards Armin: "You're cadet Armin Arlert, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir!" Armin replied, performing the military salute.

"You mentioned a plan to harness this so-called Titan ability, and then utilize your friend's power to retake the city. Do you believe it could work, or were you grasping at straws to try and save your 'hinds?" Commander Pixis asked. Ruby could tell that he was most certainly intrigued – as anyone would be – but she didn't know what his expression held when he asked the question. She supposed that it was because of the wrinkles. After all, he was old.

"Well, both, Commander." Armin answered, as honest and co-operative as Ruby had expected. "I was going to suggest that Eren, using his strength as a Titan, could lift that giant boulder. We could use it to block off the wrecked gate. That was the best idea I was able to come up with on the spot. I-I just wanted to make everyone see how Eren's ability might provide a solution to the problem we all face." he divulged nervously. Commander Pixis spun on his heel, turning his body all the way round to face the six of them. Armin continued after a pause: "Granted, I was pretty desperate to survive."

"Desperate to survive, huh?" the Commander repeated. "That's as credible a reason as any, son." he assured.

The Commander drank down a few more gulps of whatever alcohol was in his flask. The old man reminded Ruby of Qrow, her mentor and (honorary) uncle. Qrow had trained Ruby to use a scythe, and even helped her build Crescent Rose. He was also an alcoholic. Though, much like the Commander, he was also experienced on the battlefield, despite being under the influence most of the time.

"What do you say, cadet Jaeger?" Commander Pixis regarded Eren. He approached the group, standing in front of Eren. Crouching down to get on Eren's level, Pixis stared into Eren's eyes, almost as if he was studying the brunet. "That hole; do you think that you could plug it up, son?"

Armin and Mikasa were left with their jaws agape, but Ruby, Weiss, and Blake gazed at Eren with interest. Eren's breath sounded as if it hitched in his throat for a moment. "Well, I... I don't know. It's possible, but at the moment, I don't understand my power any more than you do." Eren responded, hanging his head low. He averted his gaze, instead choosing to focus on the concrete. "It's just... I sort of feel irresponsible giving you an answer, 'cause I don't really know."

"It's okay," Ruby comforted him with a pat on the shoulder. "You ought to feel like that."

"Ah, yes. Of course, my apologies. I asked you the wrong question." the Commander remarked. Eren's eyes focused on the Commander once more. Ruby's hand dropped. "Are you _willing_ to, cadet Jaeger, or not?"

Eren hesitated for a second. At that, Commander Pixis' eyes set on the crowds of soldiers in the streets below. Eren's head rotated, taking a look over his shoulder to see the same thing. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake spun around too, setting their sights on the incredible number of soldiers lined up in the streets below. Ruby's jaw dropped at the sight, while Weiss narrowed her eyes. Blake shivered upon viewing the crowded streets.

Ruby closed her mouth before swivelling herself around to face the opposite direction. Her back faced the crowds and her eyes gazed towards the land beyond the walls, which had most likely been lost for some time. Eren did the same as Ruby, turning himself back around to face the Commander once again.

"I'll do it," Eren said, lifting his head up. "I'll do it!" he repeated. "I don't know if I can seal that hole, but I'll do it!"

The Commander nodded with a smile. "Excellently said! You have the heart of a lion!" he patted Eren's shoulders. He then stood up and turned to Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. "And would you three be able to assist in this operation?"

Ruby averted her eyes, taking a moment to consider it. She knew she would be able to assist, but Weiss' words that morning got to her. The heiress had been concerned about Dust, and the possibility of them running out of it during the battle of Trost. Ruby had thought that she and her two teammates would be at a disadvantage without Yang, but they needed the answer to their question of whether or not Dust existed in this world, so perhaps Weiss would have to sit this one out as well. Still, though, they could probably make something work with just her and Blake.

"Blake and I will assist in any way we can." Ruby told him, letting her hands fall by her sides.

"What about me?" Weiss asked, surprisingly annoyed by the fact she wasn't included.

"You were concerned about our supplies this morning, weren't you? I doubt you've had a moment to think about it until now." Ruby tilted her head at Weiss.

"That is a good point." Blake nodded, taking the fact into consideration. "You were worried about the possibility of us running out of Dust while we were fighting. I think it'd be best if you try and find out if it exists here inside the walls."

"That's what I was thinking, too." Ruby agreed.

"Is this your way of coming up with a compromise so that I don't have to take part in the operation?" Weiss looked between Blake and Ruby.

"No." Ruby and Blake said, unintentionally coordinated.

"We just need the answer of whether or not Dust exists here. You're the best person for it." Ruby informed her.

"Then again, your Aura..." Blake scratched the back of her neck.

It took Weiss a couple of seconds to consider it, but she eventually released a sigh from her lips and nodded her head. "Alright, fine. I'll go." she complied. She tilted her head at an upward angle and held direct eye contact with Commander Pixis. "Would you happen to have any soldiers available that could accompany me to any mines around Wall Rose?"

"We might. It depends on what you're travelling to the mines for." the Commander replied. Ruby couldn't help but notice that he sounded a bit sceptical. Suspicious, even.

"What is this 'Dust' that you keep referring to, if you don't mind me asking?" Armin then inquired. "I don't think you've explained that to us yet. Or Aura or Semblance, for that matter."

"Blake, would you do the honours? If Weiss explains it, she'll go on for much longer than we have time for." Ruby asked, her expression deadpan.

"Hey!"

"Sure, I don't mind." Blake nodded. She glanced between Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and Commander Pixis. "Dust is what most huntsman and huntresses – like us – use in Remnant. It's a source of energy in our world. It's known as a crystallised energy propellant, and there are many types of it. However, Dust does not function outside the atmospheres of where it is found. In fact, that's why I believe that Dust can be found in this world – because Weiss' Dust functions normally."

"We're sorry we can't explain more, but Titans are still coming in through that hole in the wall, and I can hear the soldiers getting impatient." Weiss noted. Ruby glimpsed back over her shoulder, and there were indeed a lot of soldiers calling out for anyone to tell them what was going on. Ruby turned back to Weiss just as the heiress spoke again: "If we had more time, we could explain it fully. But we need to find out the answer to the question of whether or not Dust exists in this world. And after what Blake said, I'm confident that we can find Dust."

"Usually, I wouldn't act on something where the odds were fifty-fifty." Commander Pixis began, his thumb and index finger pulling lightly at his moustache. "But seeing as how there is a good chance of success and a valid degree of truth to your claims, I will allow you to visit the mines on the interior of Wall Rose. I'll attach Anka and some horses, and you can be on your way."

Ruby's eyes sparkled and her mouth fell open into a wide smile, while Weiss nodded. "Thank you! I won't let you down!" Weiss hopped in place and bowed her head politely.

Blake looked to Ruby with a smile. "So, you and me are going to take part in this operation?"

"Yep!" Ruby nodded.

Satisfied, Commander Pixis treaded over to the edge of the wall, raising one of his arms: "Staff officers, hop! We have a plan to flesh out!"

Armin jumped. "Huh? Wait, we can't actually be moving forward with this as our linchpin strategy. It was just something I tossed out there!"

"I was thinking the same thing." Eren stated, staring straight ahead. "'Cept, he seems like a guy who knows what he's doing; has it all under control, like we can't see the forest for the trees but he's got a birds-eye view."

"You think so?" Armin questioned, sounding unsure.

"I do. Either way, though, we've got a whole other problem to address before we can get your plan off the ground." Eren pointed out. "And my gut tells me that the Commander's keenly aware of it."

"Which would be...?" Armin inquired.

"Titans... aren't our only foe."

A gasp escaped Armin's lips, and Ruby couldn't help but arch a brow. Weiss leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Eren, while Blake simply stared at the boy with somewhat of a troubled but curious expression.

"Look sharp, soldiers." Commander Pixis suddenly called out to them, prohibiting anyone of asking what Eren meant.

Ruby joined Eren and Blake as they all rose to their feet, standing at attention. Commander Pixis stood in front of them, accompanied by a man and a woman.

"The fate of mankind rests on your shoulders."


	8. Chapter 8 – Start of The Operation

**{1.} I just wanna say that since I am doing things from the English dub of AOT – as I probably have said time and time again** **–** **then some things may not... be correct. What I mean is, I'm going by ear (I have to continually watch the anime while I write this story just to know what happens since I forget things way too easily), so I have to watch out for what people say. So, if you see a word, a name, or anything else that you don't know and likely seems incorrect to you, just remember I had a hard time wondering about the spellings and whether or not some things actually were words or names. You are not alone with this problem.**

 **{2.} If anyone wants to know, I... don't really like Mikasa. In fact, she's my least favourite character of AOT, at joint last with Oluo/Oruo/Auruo {however you spell his name}, Daz, Captain Kitts Voerman {for obvious reasons}, and the Military Police {also for obvious reasons}. As much as I want to like her character... I just can't. Her obsession with Eren, although somewhat funny at times, can be annoying at times too. And her blatant disregard for other characters that aren't Eren or Armin is just one of the things I dislike about her. I understand that Captain Voerman doesn't give a damn about anyone other than himself, which may either be due to shellshock and the fact that he couldn't care less about what happens to anyone else as long as he gets out unscathed, which is why he is worse than Mikasa. Mikasa just doesn't care no matter what, so long as she gets to follow Eren. And although I may understand the reasoning behind her obsession with Eren, I just can't stand the effect it has on the story itself and the other characters. If anyone's noticed, she's a bit different in this story, all thanks to team RWBY. I really hope no one minds this too much.**

 **{3.} Ruby's scythe, Crescent Rose, actually has a second form when in full scythe mode. Look it up. It's when the scythe's spine actually curves back so it joins with the shaft, leaving the curved blade out. That's the second form. You can even see it being used in the Red Trailer. Thanks to the people that have informed me on the name of this type of weapon, I'm pretty certain it's called a 'glaive'.**

 **{4.} For the flashbacks of RWBY characters' pasts, I think it would be safe to say that I'm only assuming what happened at that time, since I don't really know anything myself and don't expect anyone else to know until it gets shown or something along the lines. In which case, any RWBY character flashbacks – along with future ones** **–** **will be pretty vague, but clear enough to just give the general idea of how the moments would have generally played out. And I understand that it may conflict with any backstories and new background information that will be shown in the future, too, so beware. This does not apply to any flashbacks that show what happened in the RWBY series, though, or any flashbacks from childhood that were shown in the RWBY series (Blake at the Faunus rights rallies when she was little, and Yang pulling a sleeping Ruby in a cart through a forest in search of her mother, for example.**

 **{5.} I have no idea how to say this any other way, so I'll just say it as it is. I feel as if I'm making Ruby somewhat useless, and that she doesn't get enough action scenes compared to the rest of the characters. I realise I'm doing this with Yang, too. I apologise to any fans of Ruby and/or Yang if you think I am trying to make it seem like either of them are powerless or useless in fights against the Titans. They aren't** **. They'll get better as the chapters progress, I promise. In the meantime, I will try to make things equal with Weiss and Blake.**

 **{6.} I actually checked to see what 'a league' is in terms of distance. According to Google, 1 nautical league is 5.556 kilometres. The boulder is roughly over 5 kilometres away from the gate. Also, one nautical league in miles is 3.452 miles, so... yeah. Do with that information what you will.**

* * *

 **Weiss Schnee**

* * *

Weiss' horse skidded to a halt in front of the entrance of a mine. Apparently, this was the closest mine to Trost, so likely, it was their first stop. Weiss hoped they would get lucky and find some Dust on the first try, but didn't hold her breath to it. If she got her hopes up, she would be disappointed. The mine was located on the south side of Wall Rose, a little too close to the Trost battlegrounds for her liking, but it's not as if complaining about it could make the mine change its location.

"This is it, then?" Weiss' horse began trotting the few extra feet when Anka advanced stopped ahead of her.

"Yes. According to reports, it has a record for explosions occurring in several parts of it." Commander Pixis' aide, Anka Rheinberger, informed her as both ladies dismounted their horses. "You said that one of the types of Dust, the fire one, was capable of creating explosions?"

The girls left their horses behind for a temporary moment. Weiss' horse was white and Anka's horse was brown. Trailing behind Anka's horse was a cart with Voerman inside, trapped in chains. Additionally, they had planned to put any Dust they found in that same cart, though why anyone would put something like Dust in the presence of someone with such an unstable mindset had Weiss baffled, and try as she had to argue her case on the way there, Anka had told her the number of carts were stripped, so they would just have to settle. Still, Anka had suggested that if Weiss was so worried about Voerman with the Dust, she could stay in the cart and supervise him on the way back.

"Yeah." Weiss responded and breathed a deep sigh. She spared a brief moment to pet her horse, before spinning on her heel and following Anka into the mine. If there were explosions happening in the mine, then if Fire Dust was responsible for it, someone definitely wasn't mining it right. She'd have a bone to pick with the owner if they ended up finding some Dust here.

As soon as they entered the mine, the stench of sweat, body odour, and grease flooded into her nostrils. The unsanitary combination of the smells and the multiple workers crammed into such a small space made Weiss almost want to vomit. She held her breath – and her nose – until they found the mine owner's office, and by that time, she was barely blue in the face. Many of the workers asked questions along the way, and some even tried to 'defend Anka from the outsider' – which didn't go down too well with Weiss – until Anka explained to them that she was fine and that they were there for business purposes.

Refusing to await any instruction from the Commander's aide, Weiss knocked on the door of the foreman's office. She waited a few seconds and the door opened, revealing a rather young man with shaggy blond hair, and soft lilac eyes. He looked quite muscly, too, unlike most of the miners she had seen on her way here.

"Miss Rheinberger?" he questioned as soon as he saw Anka. His voice was quite gruff, despite also being somewhat high-pitched and silvery. He noted Weiss alongside Anka, and gave her the look a good father – a father like Ruby and Yang's dad – would give to those who reminded him of his daughter. The kind father smile. "From your appearance, I can tell you're from Remnant."

Weiss tensed, but relaxed only a second later. "How did you know? Have you encountered others from Remnant?"

"You could say that." the man opened the door further, leaning on the doorframe. "Me and the rest of the villagers from my village ended up here several years ago, when Grimm suddenly invaded our village. The name's Sonny Taylor." he introduced himself.

"Weiss Schnee. You may have heard of the Schnee Dust Company that my grandfather created." Weiss braved a polite smile, hoping he wouldn't start bashing her family. Sure, she didn't feel too kindly about her father and to be honest, her little brother Whitley was too much of a daddy's boy for her to tolerate him, but family was family, and she'd defend them if she needed to.

"Ah. The SDC." Sonny responded. "Before I came here, I used to hear... things from travellers that came through the village. Told me and many others that ever since that man, Jacques Schnee, took over the business, it's been getting a questionable reputation. The Faunus labour added to the controversy. But I'm guessing you're already aware of the mark he left on the company."

"One of the many reasons why I hope to change it. I want to bring back the morale that my grandfather had when he controlled the company." Weiss declared, her voice sharp with spirit, and her chest puffed out proudly.

With raised eyebrows, Sonny smiled in delight. He nodded graciously. "Well, I'll be damned. Come on in."

* * *

 **Eren Jaeger**

* * *

Eren, Ruby, and Blake were taking a stroll along the top of the wall with Commander Pixis. They had been walking for a while, and Ruby and Blake had been taking in the amazing scenery of the evening as the three of them listened to the Commander talk about the Titans – back when they had first appeared over a hundred years ago. Had it not been for the Titans roaming the Trost District, Eren knew that Ruby would sit and watch the peaceful sun setting over the horizon for however long she wanted; though, unfortunately, she didn't have that luxury at this moment. Though, Yang probably did.

"It's thought by many that before the Titans held sway, mankind consisted of scores of different races, different creeds, all scratching and biting at each other for blood." the Commander rambled on, his arms folded behind his back. "It's not difficult to believe that second part."

The story was interesting, to say the least. From what Eren could see, Blake found something about the story to be familiar. He should ask Blake about that when time wasn't of the essence. In fact, now that he thought about it, he didn't really know all that much about any of the four girls he'd met. When he finally had some time with them, he should try to get to know them a bit better.

"Some wise man or other is reputed to have said – though understand I'm paraphrasing here – that humanity required an enemy greater than itself just to survive. What do you three suppose he could have meant?" Commander Pixis later inquired.

Eren's eyes widened at the question. "This is the first time I've ever heard it, sir." Eren replied. He was confused, and hesitated to speak, but eventually settled on an answer: "I guess... he thought we'd all join forces?"

"I think he meant that if humanity didn't have an enemy that would make them unite to fight the threat, then the people would fight amongst themselves instead." Blake deduced with a shrug of her shoulders. "And likely end up wiping humanity itself out in the process."

"Some wise man," Eren remarked in response.

"I like the way your mind works." Pixis said with a chuckle, peering over his shoulder at them. "You're almost as twisted and cynical as me."

"Well, it's obvious to me the guy didn't have a clue what he was talking about." Eren stated. He was fully aware of how, in this world, a minority of people still fought with each other, even when faced with a threat to humanity as a whole. He was so self-aware that it sometimes disturbed others around him, he recognised that much. "Come on, here we are with an enemy greater than ourselves buried down, and look at us."

"Exactly." Commander Pixis replied. Eren felt as if he had finally found common ground with the Commander. "If our species doesn't pull it together soon, Titans will be merely the instruments of our demise, not the cause."

The four of them were approaching the cannons, where another group of soldiers from the Garrison Regiment were stationed. Next to one of the cannons was Hannes, who was apparently caught off-guard when he noticed Eren walking with the Commander, alongside Ruby and Blake.

"Eren?" Eren just barely heard Hannes say his name. "Well I'll be damned."

Eren lifted his hand up to about waist height and pointed down with his index finger, motioning for Hannes to get back to work. Ruby waved at Hannes, while Blake didn't even notice him. After they passed Hannes and his squad, Ruby immediately turned to Eren.

"I assume that was Mister Hannes?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, that's Hannes. He was the one who saved me and Mikasa five years ago." Eren clarified, lowering his hand down by his side.

"Wait, who saved you? Sorry, I was lost in thought." Blake's eyes came back into focus after having been empty for a couple of seconds.

"Mister Hannes, the man back there." Ruby pointed over her shoulder with her thumb toward Hannes. "Armin got him to save Eren and Mikasa five years ago."

Blake glanced back over her shoulder, before turning back. "I see." she nodded, seeming a bit awkward.

Commander Pixis reached into his pocket and brought out his silver flask. He took a drink from it, before passing it to Eren.

"Care for a swig?" he asked, holding it out in front of the brunet.

"Uh, yes sir!" Eren replied, hesitantly taking the flask out of Pixis' hand and cautiously looking at it for a second.

Ruby and Blake watched Eren drink from the flask, before his eyes widened and he spat the horrid alcohol out of his mouth.

* * *

Commander Pixis stopped in the middle of two green flags that held an image of a shield behind the imprinted head of a so-called goddess. The goddess was called Rose, named after the wall that many of the religious people in the Wall Cult believed she built. The Wall Cult had a goddess for all three of the walls, named after the walls themselves.

Maria, Rose, and Sina.

Eren and Ruby were positioned shoulder-to-shoulder at the right of where the Commander was stood. Eren had his arms by his sides, and Ruby's hands were fidgeting in front of her. Blake was stood in-between the Commander and Eren, her hands behind her back and her gaze low.

" _ **ATTENTION!**_ "

The Commander's sudden shout left Blake backing up a bit with her palms pressed to her bow and her upper arms covering her ears. But as quickly as that happened, the girl's eyes snapped open and she quickly regained her composure and hopped to her place beside Eren before anyone had a chance to notice. Ruby spared a worried glance at Blake, which Eren arched a brow at, but decided not to say anything. He'd ask Ruby later.

"Take note! The blueprint of the Trost recovery operation is this!" Pixis started to explain, yelling so he could be heard. "Our primary objective is to reseal the hole! Yes, you heard right! What's more, it will be done manually! As for how the task will be done, that's where this fellow comes in!"

Eren stepped forward to meet the sights of the soldiers in the streets below, if they could even see him. Clenching his fist, Eren performed his military salute.

"Allow me to introduce cadet Eren Jaeger! Don't let appearances deceive you! This young man is in fact the successful product of cutting-edge science! Fantastic as this may sound, cadet Jaeger possesses the ability to fabricate and control a Titan body at will!" Commander Pixis continued further. He paused, as if allowing the news to sink in, before carrying on: "Recall the massive boulder roughly a league from the gate! Having assumed Titan form, cadet Jaeger will hoist said boulder on his back, schlap it to the hole, and voila! And this is where you all come in! Your job will be to defend him! Yes, defend a Titan against his own kind!"

"What do you mean we don't actually need to fight them?" Eren could vaguely hear the voice of the Commander's aide, Gustav. He was going over the plan with Armin, Mikasa, and Yang. Eren's concentration slipped from Commander Pixis' speech and to the conversation taking place a few feet behind himself, Ruby, and Blake.

"There's an easier way. Sorry, I know it's not my place to interrupt, I mean no disrespect." Armin apologised, his voice somewhat shaky.

"It's alright. Just go on with what you were saying." Gustav encouraged him.

"Right. Thank you sir." Armin replied, and all shakiness from his voice was gone. "See, whatever else is going on around them, Titans are generally drawn to large groups of people. If enough of us collected in the corner away from the breach, we could lure the Titans out of Eren's path. He could be discreet about moving the boulder. He also won't have to slow his pace while we fight the others off of him. And since the Titans will all be in one area, we can pick them off via cannon fire without incurring casualties of our own."

"That sounds good, but what about Eren?" Yang asked. Her voice was less raspy than it had been, probably because she'd been given the chance to be treated and had food and water, but her voice still sounded similar to Commander Pixis'.

"I'm not saying we leave Eren defenceless; that'd be too risky." Armin answered her. "We'll need a modest band of elites to act as his bodyguards. There's no way of knowing how many Titans might come through the hole while he's trying to patch it up. His security detail will need to be able to handle them."

"Easy enough, I think. We can retool the plan around that." Gustav stated.

"The thing is, we're making a huge assumption here – namely that Eren, even in full-on Titan form, is strong enough to move the rock." Armin then pointed out. "I mean, to be perfectly honest, there's very little reason for us to suppose he can. I have my doubts; serious ones!"

"As do I." Gustav responded curtly. "Sending people to their doom on a whim... isn't a tactic I'm fond of. Uncertainties kill too many already. But the Commander's right. We must do this."

"Agreed." Yang said, with a nod of her head, coughing violently at least three times afterwards. She recovered and sighed. "We're working against the clock here. Titans are still lumbering into Trost as we speak. There may be already more than any of us can handle before the day ends, and the fact that I won't be able to do anything to help makes my skin crawl enough as it is. The more we wait, the more Titans crawl in, and the more danger those soldiers lined up down there will be in, and the worse our chances look."

"And it goes without saying: the better our chances they'll bust through Wall Rose and wreak untold havoc." Gustav added.

"There's something else I'm afraid of, too," Yang admitted, her raspy voice going quiet and tone turning grave. "Even the bravest of them can't indefinitely bottle their fear. Even—" Yang doubled over, trembling with each violent, spluttering cough—"Even the elites are gonna have their limits."

"They're lying!" Daz suddenly screamed, dragging Eren's attention toward Commander Pyxis' speech and the soldiers below. "I'm not gonna be drawn into sacrificing myself for this crap! We're just disposable tools for you people! You expect us to live and die for whatever the hell comes out of your mouth!"

A lot more people began whispering, and some people even started walking away. Eren couldn't believe what he was seeing. Either it was signalling the fact that they didn't believe this plan could work, or that they were too cowardly to take part in the operation. Hell, perhaps even both!

"Anyone wishing to leave," Commander Pixis called out to everyone on the ground, "will by my personal order, _not_ be charged with treason or desertion! Those who have seen a Titan first-hand will not be expected to visit such horror again! Whomever this applies to, you may leave with my blessing! Additionally, anyone with family or loved ones they would rather spare from the same trauma may also leave! The crown will continue to recognise your service! Thank you and good luck!"

The Commander's words left everyone absolutely stunned. Eren could see the soldiers debating and considering what he had said.

All of them spun on their heels and returned back to the crowd. Eren assumed it was because Commander Pixis had – whether intentionally or accidentally – guilt tripped them into returning to the fray. And now that he had the result, Commander Pixis carried on.

"Now, think back four years ago! Namely, the operation to retake Wall Maria! I bring it up because you all deserve to have your suspicions confirmed! Officially, we labelled it 'Reconnaissance', but in fact, as most of you probably know, it was little more than a purge! A thinly disguised exercise in population control!  
"We knew this in our hearts, of course we did! Yet we turned a blind eye! We supported the state-sponsored myth because the deaths of our fellow human beings allowed us to survive! Pure and simple!"

Eren noticed Ruby's and Blake's eyes widen at the news. When he glanced over his shoulder, Eren saw that Yang was just as equally horrified, and she shivered. Eren knew it wasn't because she was cold.

"The guilt is ours! We share the blame! All of us! The citizens of Wall Maria sustained themselves on the wholesale slaughter of the refugees who'd flown to us for help! The turnabout is fair play, is it not? If Wall Rose succumbs, the population will fall by a whole other order of magnitude! The lands comprising Wall Sina wouldn't support half the people now living! If we're wiped off the face of the earth, the culprits will not have been the Titans, let me assure you! No, no! We'll have done it to ourselves!  
If a line isn't drawn now, it won't be drawn at all."

He stretched out his arms.

" **If we must die, let us die here!** "

 _'I don't know if I'll actually be strong enough in Titan form to lift that rock in the first place. But, I'm sure as hell going to try.'_ Eren tensed up. _'Maybe this is naïve. Maybe we're running on false hope. But so what? I have to power through. For them; for all of us.'_

His ability to transform had brought about a new hope, but right now, that was only false hope.

 _'My role... no, my duty... is to make false hope real!'_

* * *

Eren, Ruby, and Blake joined back up with Armin, Mikasa, and Yang. Ruby seemed to be a tad nervous about this mission. After the speech that Commander Pixis gave, Eren had heard Ruby ceaselessly muttering the possibilities that could cause the plan to go belly-up, taking no breaks to breathe until both Eren and Blake pointed out that she was going blue in the face and should really calm down.

"By the way... Ruby," Yang approached Ruby, her legs shaky but managing to sustain her nonetheless. Yang had changed out of the clothes she'd been in this morning and now wore a loose yellow long-sleeved shirt barely hanging on her shoulders, with white trousers and a pair of black socks. Her hair, which originally looked too untamed for Eren's comfort, had thankfully been tied up in a black purple ribbon. Ruby's unique silver eyes met Yang's purple irises. "Apparently an elite squad will be acting as bodyguards for Eren. I thought you might wanna know, since you interacted pretty well with Eren's Titan back at HQ."

Ruby's face began to grow red, but she quickly covered her face with her hands. "I didn't know it was Eren at the time!" she exclaimed, flustered beyond Eren's belief.

"Don't tease her, Yang." Blake said with a chuckle.

"What are you talking about? What is this about my Titan form and Ruby?" Eren stepped forward, confused.

"Don't tell him! You'll make it sound embarrassing!" Ruby waved her arms in front of Yang and Blake.

Yang and Blake glanced at each other briefly, before delving into a fit of chuckles. "Okay, okay." Yang rolled her eyes, but coughed another two times, each time sounding raw in her throat. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, before treading over to a few of the crates nearby. Yang leaned close to Eren, her mouth to his ear. "Weiss, Blake, and I will tell you later."

"Yang, I doubt Eren responds well to being kept in suspense." Blake approached the blonde and Eren, giving the blonde a smile that probably swept Jean off his feet already. "I'm glad you're feeling better enough to crack jokes again. How long until you start with the puns again?"

"Blake, not being able to make puns so far has been a _pun_ ishment for me." Yang waved her hand. Eren couldn't help but aim a deadpan stare at Yang.

"Why did I ask?" Blake rolled her eyes, but otherwise aimed a half-smile at Yang.

Armin suddenly turned to Eren, suddenly apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Eren. I was just talking out of my head. It wasn't my intention for you to be pulled into all this."

"Stop apologising. The fact is you have a gift for strategy and you know it. I believe in you, Armin." Eren declared in response.

"Eren, I really think I should—" Mikasa started to say.

"You're not coming with me." Eren immediately cut her off. Mikasa appeared to be taken aback, and Eren's tone of voice towards her seemed to surprise Yang and Blake. "You're on the decoy squad, period."

"No way. I'm not leaving you alone. I won't take another chance—!" Mikasa objected, trying to stay calm.

"Knock it the hell off!" Eren jumped in front of her, causing Mikasa to step back a bit. "Get it through your head that I'm not your responsibility. You're not my mother!"

"This isn't the time to be fighting!" Ruby squeezed between Eren and Mikasa. Both of them stopped arguing and instead stared down at Ruby. The diminutive girl gave a sigh of relief when the two were silent. "Finally." she muttered under her breath. She turned to Mikasa first. "Now, Mikasa, with your skills, you'll probably make the elite squad anyway, considering you were also chosen for the Rear Guard. But don't forget, we're here as well to help you look out for him, even if we did an absolutely terrible job last time."

The ghost of a smile blossomed on Mikasa's face, and her eyes sparkled with hope and admiration. Whether that was for Ruby or for the fact it was likely Ruby was correct, Eren didn't know. "I-I understand. I trust you and Blake will probably do a better job than I will."

"Eh, I'm sure you'll do fine. You're stronger than the rest of the cadets, aren't you?" Ruby smile was too bright for Eren to look at. Mikasa's smile barely widened and she nodded her head. Satisfied with the response, Ruby's head swivelled and her silver eyes met Eren's teal-green ones. "And Eren, I want you to know that Mikasa was very lost after you were eaten. She thought you were dead. I can see why she doesn't want to risk that happening again, and I hope you come to accept and understand that too." Ruby told him, patting his shoulders. "And these arguments were getting pretty tiring. In fact, I now understand how Armin felt when he probably had to be the peacekeeper."

"Ackerman!"

The moment was interrupted by Captain Ian Dietrich.

"I want you on the squad that'll be providing Jaeger with backup." he announced. Mikasa's face brightened up considerably. "We'll need your skill."

"I'm joining that squad, too." Ruby informed him, waving her hand in the air.

"I am as well. It'll be good to have us with you." Blake called out to him.

"Fine. Just don't slow us down." the Captain sent a glare towards Ruby and Blake, before he spun on his heel and began to leave.

Ruby dashed to the side of Captain Dietrich before he even knew what had happened. Ruby's action left a flurry of rose petals in her wake. The red rose petals arose from her red cape, before they disappeared in the breeze. Her sudden movement left Captain Dietrich in shock, and had him switching glances between where she previously was, and where she stood now.

"I'm not slow!" Ruby gave another serious smile, but gave a soft chuckle when she saw his face.

In the next second, Blake was next to Ruby, appearing like a shadow behind the girl. Blake had left a shadow or copy of herself where she was previously stood, which disappeared as soon as Eren, Armin, and Mikasa saw it. Blake's expression was deadpan, even while the Captain paled at the sight of her. "Neither am I. Now can we please get going already?"

* * *

"Let's get this straight right now, Jaeger." Captain Dietrich led the group across the top of the wall, sprinting in front of everyone else. "Whatever you are, all I care about is you getting that rock in place. Can we count on you?"

"Yes sir! I won't let you down!" Eren replied, holding his head up above Ruby's in order to see what was ahead of them. Due to Ruby's and Blake's running speed easily outclassing either Mikasa's or Eren's, Ruby was carrying Eren on her back, and Blake had Mikasa on hers.

Well, it wasn't only the speed. Eren had complained of pains in his legs, so Ruby had decided to be his legs for him, not knowing the leg pains were false and he just wanted to see up close how fast the girl could go, regardless of the rose petals in the way (the things he did to sate his own curiosity...). Blake, who likely didn't want to be left out, had taken it upon herself to carry Mikasa, mentioning something about Mikasa's earlier fall a few hours ago, as she swept Mikasa off her feet.

"You absolutely sure you're gonna be alright to do this?" Mikasa hastily asked. Blake arrived beside Ruby to allow Mikasa to talk to Eren.

"I got it!" Eren groaned, getting agitated with how much Mikasa was babying him.

"Seriously—!"

"How many times do you want me to say it?! You just go do your job and I'll do mine!"

"Old habits die hard, I guess." Ruby remarked under her breath, her gaze briefly lowering to the ground.

"Look, now's not the time to be playing _House_." Captain Rico Brzenska immediately ran between Ruby and Blake, aiming her eyes at Eren. Her words left Eren embarrassed, to say the least.

"Come on, it isn't like that!" Eren spoke up in his own defence.

"I'm gonna say what we're all thinking here; the fact that the fate of mankind depends on a little brat like you doesn't exactly make me hopeful." Captain Mitabi Jarnach declared.

"All of you, stop it right now!" Captain Dietrich commanded, causing everyone to shut their mouths. "We're about to be in range of the giant boulder!"

"I don't see any Titans nearby," Ruby mentioned, holding her head up to see the boulder in the distance below. "Looks like the decoy strategy is doing the trick."

"There's something I want you to be aware of, Jaeger." Captain Brzenska suddenly piped up again. "Make no mistake – more than a few of our comrades are going to die today trying to pull this off. Their blood's on your hands. I'm talking friends, captains, lieutenants, peons. Yes, they are soldiers; they are prepared to die. But remember, every one of them is a flesh and blood person. Every one of them has dreams, hopes, fears. Every one of them has a name. Aliosha, Dominic, Fine, Isabel, Ludvic, Martina, Guido, Hans. They're not pawns, they're people. Some have been living together like family since their cadet years. This may well be the end of them. Whole families, snuffed out in a moment. Whatever you think your mission is, your first and foremost concern today is making sure their deaths mean something. Whatever happens, you keep that lodged in your mind. Take everything that comes with deadly seriousness."

"Right!" Eren grunted. _'This is happening! I'm going to do this!'_

The words of Commander Pixis echoed in his mind:

 _"Not once in this century of terror has mankind risen above the Titans! Their every craven, bloodthirsty advance has left a wake of inestimable odds for us! Lives taken! Territory abandoned! However, should we succeed, we'll make history! Today is the day! Lands taken by our greatest enemy_ will _be reclaimed!"_

"This is the place! Let's do it!" Captain Dietrich declared as he began to jump. Everyone followed on after him.

 _"For the first time, we will know what it means not to run, but to meet the Titans head-on and win!"_

Captain Rico paused on top of the wall, briefly staying behind everyone else in order to fire a green smoke signal. The Commander would notice it immediately.

Ruby was the first to race ahead towards the boulder. Eren couldn't tell what happened next, but Ruby's hold on him tightened when his vision was partly obscured by rose petals. The wind screamed in his ears as Ruby travelled at sonic speed across the rooftops. Eren clutched at her clothing for dear life. His blood pumped with excitement, finally being able to learn how fast she was able to travel, and he hungered to learn how to be as fast as Ruby.

Blake swung through the air beside them, Mikasa still on her back, also holding on for dear life. She passed building after building as she occasionally left behind shadows of herself and Mikasa, which propelled her forward with each use of the ability. Performing a somersault in the air, Blake tugged back her weapon and cast it far forward again. She spun through the air, firing herself and Mikasa forward again as she created a couple more shadows of them both.

 _"Now it may seem an insignificant plot of land compared to the vast tracks of former glory long abandoned! But as a symbol, as an idea, Trost's regain shall stand as a reclamation of pride and hope beyond measure! A leap greater than we have ever taken!"_

Eren released his legs from underneath Ruby's arms, planting the soles of his boots on Ruby's back. Launching himself off of Ruby, he began his descent near the boulder. He bit into his hand, and not even a second later, a bolt of yellow lightning struck him. Flesh grew around him, attaching itself to his face, arms, legs, and back, all the while the carcass strapped him to the nape of his Titan.

* * *

 **Blake Belladonna**

* * *

Blake dropped Mikasa off on a rooftop while Eren managed to transform into a 15-metre Titan.

While the transformation had been successful, transforming in the air wasn't something she'd class as a smart idea. Just as she expected, gravity soon took its hold on Eren's Titan form, sending him crashing in a nearby building, everything in the way of his falling body be damned and smoke arose from the damage caused. But Eren, ever determined, rose to his feet once he recovered from the landing. Yet once he stood back up, an unwelcome feeling of dread came to life in Blake's gut.

Eren's transformation had succeeded, but Blake could sense that Eren didn't have full control of the Titan. He was just... standing there. He didn't seem as if he was going to lift the boulder. He had something else in mind.

Ruby landed beside Blake after she had situated herself next to Mikasa. The three of them were situated on a rooftop directly behind Eren. As soon as they were in position, Eren turned his head and stared at them over his shoulder. And then he suddenly pivoted in place and punched the rooftop with his fist.

Ruby immediately grabbed Mikasa and leapt out of the way, while Blake had to use her Shadow Semblance in order to evade the attack. Blake somersaulted over Eren's head and landed on the top of the boulder. Mikasa and Ruby had flown with the wind after the attack, but managed to land in a heap after rolling backwards. Eren began his assault on the tiles again: he pounded his other fist into the part of the parapet, precisely where Ruby and Mikasa were recovering.

Despite Ruby's attempts to evade the attack, she instead hit the wall of a chimney. Mikasa, on the other hand, flew up into the air thanks to Ruby tossing her out of the way. Blake could only watch as Eren made one last attack, lunging towards Ruby before the team leader had a chance to stand. In the next moment, Eren lifted his head up, and Blake's legs went weak when she saw Ruby's legs dangling out of his mouth. However, even as her grip on her katana tightened, she still didn't hear a biting noise or any sound of Eren swallowing Ruby.

Mikasa swiftly recovered only a couple of seconds after the last attack. She fired a wire at the side of Eren's face, planting a foot on his nose as she held onto his hair to steady herself.

"Ackerman, stand down now! Get away from him! That's an order!" Captain Dietrich shouted at her, waving his sword around as if that would get his point across.

Mikasa didn't move. Neither did Blake.

"Eren! I know you're in there somewhere! I know you recognize me! That's right! Come on! Snap the hell out of it! We've got a breach to seal up!" Mikasa yelled at Eren, occasionally glancing at Eren's mouth, and Blake could've sworn she'd seen a spark of hope in Mikasa's eyes. In that moment, Mikasa sounded like a mother scolding a misbehaving child.

Captain Rico then opened up a box containing a yellow flare gun and a red flare gun. She picked up the red one and aimed it up at the sky. She fired it and a red trail of smoke fired into the sky, sure to alert every other person or Titan with the ability to see. If Blake had any common sense, she assumed that the red flare was supposed to signal that the plan had failed. Well, had failed according to Rico, at least.

That was when Blake truly began to panic. Her head spun in all directions, thinking of what to do.

 _'What should I do? What_ can _I do?'_

Blake desperately looked to Mikasa. One of Eren's hands had reformed, balled into a fist.

"Get out of there!" Captain Dietrich ordered her once he saw the same thing.

Mikasa jumped away from Eren's face, narrowly avoiding Eren's next punch. Eren ended up slamming his fist into his own face, and it was then that Blake realised that he was aiming for Mikasa and yet _still_ trying to protect Ruby. Of course, trapping Ruby inside his mouth may not have necessarily been the right method in order to keep her safe, but at least he was trying.

But why attack Mikasa?

Unless...

Eren lost his balance and fell backwards, collapsing against the boulder.

Mikasa had escaped to the rooftop and regrouped with the squad.

"Blake! Are you alright?" Mikasa yelled once she landed. Blake nodded her head, giving a wave as her other hand rested on her knee. For some reason, Blake felt relieved that Mikasa cared just as much about them as she did about Eren. Had Ruby caused this change in her?

"Yeah, I'm okay!" A deep exhale escaped Blake's lips shortly thereafter. She cast her Gambol Shroud toward Mikasa, who easily caught the ribbon and heaved Blake over to the rest of them. Once Blake landed, she collapsed on her knees next to Mikasa.

"What the hell? You telling me the kid was a regular Titan all along?" Captain Mitabi spoke up as the squad spared glances at Blake.

"I can't believe he ate Ruby." Mikasa breathlessly stated in disbelief.

"I don't think he swallowed her. He was after you. My guess is you annoyed him when you were being overprotective, and he ended up attacking you for it." Blake explained, sparing glances at the rest of the squad over her shoulder. "At some point during his transformation, I assume that he thought about how much you treated him like a child. This is just my theory, but I believe he attacked you because of his mid-transformation thoughts." Blake ascertained, before twisting her body round to face the squad, who were all staring at her. "If you heard any of that, you'd see that he's still Eren. If he were a normal Titan, he would've eaten Mikasa."

"Suppose you're right and that's true, why eat your team leader? What would he gain from that?" Rico inquired.

"A chance to protect her." Blake told her.

"What do you mean? She appeared here with you and your other two teammates this morning. He doesn't even know you all that well. Why would he protect someone he's only just met?" Captain Dietrich asked next, sounding confused.

"I wish I knew. It's a mystery to me. My guess is that you're going to have to ask Eren what he thinks of Ruby. Either way, whatever his answer may be, he'll still see her as someone that needs to be protected from whatever he deems a threat toward her." Blake answered, managing to rise to her feet. "It happened back at HQ a few hours ago, too. My instinct tells me that Eren isn't even aware of it, but for some unknown reason, whenever he's in Titan form, he has a habit of securing Ruby's safety as much as he can. Yang said that it's a motherly instinct that Eren possesses." Blake continued, placing her finger and thumb to her chin. "If that's the case, then she's not dead. She's in Eren's mouth somewhere, likely underneath his tongue."

"CAPTAIN!" another soldier shouted from afar. "We've got two Titans burying down on us from the front!"

"A ten-metre and a six-metre!"

"Heads up! There's a twelve-metre closing in on us from the rear!"

"Ian, that's it. Please, just look at him. We need to get out of here; the plan's a bust." Captain Mitabi pleaded.

"Agreed. Full withdraw." Rico said, glaring down at Eren's Titan. "We have to leave him as he is."

Mikasa glared daggers at Ian, a dark – and presumably murderous – scowl crawling its way onto her face. As Ian turned his head away, considering their options, Blake and Mikasa peered over the eaves, and down at Eren.

* * *

 **Sonny Taylor**

* * *

Sonny ran a hand through his unkempt hair, sitting in the chair behind his desk. Weiss and Anka sat across from him, with a quickly but accurately written contract on the desk in front of Weiss. Weiss had handwritten the contract herself, outlining a secure deal for the military to use the Dust that his mine would produce. He didn't feel good about handing the Dust over to the military, but Weiss assured him that none of it would _legitimately_ go to the Military Police. To be precise, she stated that the Dust she would help him produce in the mine would go to most of the Scouts, and only the Commander and noble Captains of the Garrison Regiment.

"So, I assume you've figured out why this mine explodes." Sonny said, aiming his gaze at Weiss.

"Of course. The reason for the explosions is simple. Every so often, a miner strikes one of the Dust crystals with a pickaxe, which causes it to produce powder. He hits it some more, and eventually, there's going to be enough powdered Dust in the air to make him sneeze, which in turn causes a deadly explosion."

"I suppose you can put that answer on the report." Sonny turned his attention to Anka. Anka nodded, and began writing what she'd heard. Sonny switched his focus back to Weiss. "In all honesty, you and your team showing up here was a good thing for me and the other villagers. You are aware that you don't fit into this world, and you know you don't look or act like it, either. You and your team didn't try to hide your origins like we did. Because of you, the military's able to have peace knowing why this mine explodes so frequently, and I'm finally allowed to tell the truth about what exactly we find in this mine."

"It's no problem, but there's something bothering me." Weiss pushed the contract forward, leaning her arms on the desk, her intertwined fingers and knuckles holding up her chin. "You're from Remnant, so you should know how Dust works. How is it that you never installed anything to get rid of the excess powder from the Dust in order to avoid incidents like that?"

"We couldn't. Like I told you, we tried to hide where we came from and fit in with the people in this world. No one would understand how I knew to install sprinklers in the mines that would help with trapping the excess powder, not to mention how to drain the powder, collect it, and precipitate it." Sonny answered. Weiss narrowed her eyes at him questionably, and Sonny put his hands up. "I'm not saying that's the only reason. After all, think about the cost of installing them. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but our mine isn't exactly known for being paid well. Not when explosions occur and people die, which prompts others to leave because I can't guarantee their safety. The cost of everything that we would need to make this mine a relatively safe and casualty-free working environment is too much for me or my employees to pay."

Weiss' eyes opened wide. "I didn't take that into account. Perhaps we can use a bit of the military's funds to install the safety measures for the mine. And also some mode of safe transportation for the Dust when we send it to the Scouts." she muttered to herself, her eyes darting in different directions. All of a sudden, she stared back up at Sonny, a smile plastered across her face. "Alright; I'm willing to help you and your workers mine and process the Dust you find. But, in return for all I'm doing, we'll need fifteen percent of your monthly production."

"Fifteen percent of what this mine will make?" Sonny questioned. Weiss nodded. Sonny arched a brow. "I assume you've got a plan for what to do with fifteen percent of our production?"

"Yes. The money will go towards rebuilding anything that has been damaged by the Titans, along with the costs to make instalments that provide safety for you and your workers, and to build a place connected to the mine where powdered Dust can be manufactured as well. And if we have any extra left, we'll also be able to use it for other useful purposes, such as obtaining the materials needed to improve the arsenal that the Scouts and some of the higher-ups in the Garrison Regiment use already."

Sonny's brows raised. She had clearly thought this matter out a lot, more than he'd expected. Then again, she was a Schnee. He smiled: "Sounds like a good plan. But supplying the dust is one thing, and spreading the knowledge of Dust is another. Do you have a plan to spread the knowledge of Dust?"

"I plan to spread the knowledge of Dust among at least the Scouts, and if we can, the higher-ups in the Garrison Regiment. I don't trust the Military Police not to use Dust to up their morally dubious labour game, so they will be left out of the loop and our supply of it will exclude them. The knowledge of Dust can turn humanity's war against the Titans around. Additionally, manufacturing Dust won't kill anyone when it's done right. And even with the fifteen percent we get, you would still be sitting on top of a mountain of gold."

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it for a minute. With you being the supplier of the Dust that the Scouts would use to retake lost land and exterminate the Titans, what do you think that would do to your publicity? And don't forget, if things go well, there'd be a lot of money flowing into your pocket from the military. They're going to be using a lot of Dust out there on the front lines, and you're going to supply them with it."

Sonny ran a hand through his hair, contemplating what she said. If Weiss was right about her hypothesis for success, this would be one hell of an opportunity to cash in. The rise in money could bring him closer to reconnecting with his daughter, Allison. She'd be able to live in a nice house, a loving family home with him, and her days of scrounging in the Underground would be over.

"Alright; you've got yourself a deal." Sonny declared, leaning forward in his chair.

"Great!" Weiss grinned, passing the paper towards him. He took a glance at it. She had already lined out the terms and conditions, and only left a space at the bottom of the paper for him to sign the agreement. "I can't sleep well without knowing there's a paper trail somewhere."

* * *

 **Weiss Schnee**

* * *

"I forgot how heavy crates of Dust were." Weiss groaned as she almost bent her back lifting a closed wooden crate full of Ice Dust and carefully placed it in the cart. Behind her, Anka was carrying an equally large crate full of Fire Dust. As Weiss climbed into the cart and softly pushed the crate towards the back of it, Voerman's shouts almost deafened her.

"What are you bringing in here?!"

"You're not in the place to be shouting." Weiss snapped, her voice low. "And besides, it's something you won't get to use. This—" Weiss's index finger tapped the wood of the crate—"is going to help the Scouts on the frontlines. With proper training and knowledge of its use, less soldiers will die out there, and more Titans will be the ones to fall. So, if you're done trying to stop me from doing good for the sake of humanity, I'd suggest you calm down and try to think your own situation through."

"Miss Schnee," Anka called out after reaching the edge of the cart, "could you help me?"

"Of course, but be careful!" Weiss softly padded over to the edge, and pulled up the crate as carefully as possible. One the crate of Fire Dust was in the cart, Weiss began the task of steadily pushing the crate to the back of the cart, beside the crate of Ice Dust. "Sonny, have you got the Lightning crystals?"

"Here." Weiss heard the man's grunts from the entrance of the cart, and the sliding of wood on wood.

"Thanks!" Weiss trekked back to the entrance and grabbed the crate, pulling it backwards away from the edge. She spun around the crate and pushed the crate into place on the other side of the Ice Dust. "Anka! Have you got the Earth Dust?"

"Loading on now." the woman called out as wood was uneasily planted down on wood. For the fourth time, Weiss spun on her heel and lightly stepped over to the crate full of Earth Dust. Grabbing onto the wood, Weiss pulled it along.

"Thankfully this is the last crate. I'll have to do some more workouts to get my strength up instead of using my Aura. If I have to do this regularly, I can't afford to get sloppy with my physical statistics." When Weiss' back met the back wall of the cart, she let go of the crate and slithered around it, pushing it into place beside the Fire Dust. "Anka, attach my horse to yours and let's get going! Is there someplace closed off where we can store the Dust for the Scouts?" Weiss asked as she opened the curtain on the back of the cart, and closed the doors at the entrance.

"There is an old castle that the Scout Regiment used to use for Headquarters, but has since been left unattended and unused after the Scouts moved base." As Weiss settled herself down in front of two Dust crates, managed to catch a glimpse of Anka climbing onto her own horse attached to the cart. Anka looked back at her, and Weiss raised back up, tilting her head. Anka continued: "It's quite far. At full speed, we should get there at nightfall. After I deliver you, you'll be left to your own devices while I take Voerman to the prison. I hope you're alright with being left alone."

"Of course. It'd also be a good idea to let my teammates know, since we could use a place to stay and manage ourselves and our oncoming projects." Weiss nodded her head and folded her arms, before taking her seat. "Now, Voerman, how about you try and place nice and make my ride to the castle more... trouble-free?"


	9. Chapter 9 – Humanity's First Victory!

**{1.} At this point, if anyone has any requests or ideas for stories they want me to write – whether it's a one-shot or not** **–** **then I suggest you tell me. I like to know what others like to read, and what they would like to read. So, if you have any requests or suggestions, then tell me them in the PMs or comments.**

 **{2.} In regards to the villagers from Remnant, the ones that will be shown will be some OCs that I've made. Hopefully, you'll like my OCs, and if you don't, then you'll probably be thrilled to hear that there aren't very many OCs. There's at least the Taylor family. You've already seen Sonny Taylor last chapter, and his daughter Allison has been mentioned.**

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

"Ugh..."

Ruby's entire body had been coated with saliva, and not even her Aura could protect her from it. She felt disgusting and her clothes and hair were sloppy, and she didn't even want to think about what state her precious Crescent Rose was in. Ruby could barely lift her eyelids. What was even worse was that the tongue of Eren's Titan was on top of her; flattening her.

Ruby tried lifting herself up, but the saliva and Eren's tongue combined made it difficult to move. She saliva soaked her clothes and still enveloped her body entirely. Eren's tongue was not only heavy, but the underside of it was sticky, which in turn made her sticky. Ruby figured she could settle for trying to crawl out, but a miracle had already happened by the time she had raised her head

Steely grey eyes were the first thing Ruby saw when the weight of Eren's tongue was lifted off her. Mikasa was standing above her, holding Eren's tongue up for Ruby to move. Ruby wiped a bit of soaked hair from her forehead and gazed up at her saviour with widened eyes. The ribbon of Blake's Gambol Shroud was wrapped around Mikasa's abdomen. Mikasa held out one of her hands, offering Ruby a warm smile.

Ruby grabbed Mikasa's hand, letting the girl heave her up. Ruby planted her arms on Mikasa's shoulders, while Mikasa wrapped one arm around Ruby's midriff, one of her hands coming to rest on her side.

They were both tugged back up and caught by Blake, and when they landed, the Faunus helped both girls keep their balance. Ruby hadn't even steadied herself yet when she heard Captain Mitabi shouting at Captain Dietrich.

"Ian, snap out of it! What are you waiting for? Give the order!" Mitabi exclaimed, holding his hands in a grasping motion in front of him. "Hey, it's not like this is your fault! Come on! Look, this plan was doomed from the start! We all get that it wasn't worth a shot! Sure! Whatever! We did the best with what we had! But all we've got left now is going back over the wall!"

Ian didn't budge, but Ruby did see a drop of sweat travel down his face, showing that this was weighing down on him. Without an answer, Captain Mitabi spun on his heel and began walking away. However, he didn't get very far when Ruby skidded in front of him, her arms out wide. He stopped in front of her.

"Eren did not try to protect me just so you could give up on him!" Ruby screamed, before her brows furrowed and she growled at the man, her eyes narrowing. She was well aware of why Eren had eaten her: it was an attempt to protect her. From what, she didn't know, but at least she knew the reason. "If you were in his place, no one would want to leave you behind! So what gives you the right to abandon _him_?!"

"Stop! Now's not the time." Ian told Ruby, jogging up to where she and Mitabi stood. He turned to Rico and Mitabi: "Team Rico, take out the twelve-metre approaching from behind. Team Mitabi and I will handle the two front-runners."

"Are you nuts?!" Rico stepped forward, her eyes wide.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm the one in charge!" Ian snapped back at her. "Now do as your ordered, soldier! We are not leaving Jaeger defenceless, period! Change of plans! Our job now is to keep the others off him until he can be recovered." the Captain announced, and Ruby's muscles relaxed. "Whether we like it or not, he's still our last best chance. We're not about to abandon him. We're expendable, he isn't. He can't just be replaced."

"Please, don't talk to me about our last best chance!" Rico interrupted, raising her voice. "He's a failure countless soldiers have died because of! Just look at him, Ian! Are you saying you want more of us to die saving that?"

"That's right! Down to the last man! If that's what it takes, so be it!" Ian responded in retaliation. Rico's and Mitabi's jaws dropped.

"Ian, you can't be serious!" Rico yelled again. She was persistent, Ruby would give her that. But that persistence pricked at Ruby's mental annoyance metre.

"What other hope against the Titans do we have? You know something I don't? This is it! This is all we've got and you damn well know it! I am making a judgment call here! If you have a better plan, then speak up! How else are we ever gonna get out from under their feet?! I'm all ears here!" Ian yelled back at her.

"If you're asking me how else we'll defeat the Titans, obviously I have no idea." Rico replied, her expression deadpan with half-lidded eyes.

"See? That's why we can't afford to retreat. Not just yet. We may not know what else is in there, but there's hope. And as long as that's the case, we're gonna fight to the bitter end." Ian gritted his teeth. "Look at us. Always scraping by. Always on the run. Don't you... don't you want it to be over? Don't you wanna make a stand? Well, this is how it's done."

"This is just... this is madness." Rico said, before gritting her teeth and spinning on her heel.

"Hey!" Ian called out to her.

"I think you're right. If we're to stand, this is the only way. Just this once, let's fight a fight that's not just a battle of attrition. Let the bastards taste humanity's wrath." Rico declared with defiance. She carried on walking. "Right; my team will address the twelve-metre Titan coming from the rear."

Mitabi began walking in the opposite direction. "Well, we got the two in front or don't we?"

"Right..." Ian said in response.

Ruby raised her arm to wave at Ian as he followed on behind Mitabi. "Thank you!" She jumped up.

"There's no thanks needed, kid." Ian replied, glancing back at Ruby over his shoulder. "You're free now. Do your thing. Make good use of that skill." he told her. "After all he's tried to do for you, it's only right that you get the chance to do the same for him."

"I will! I promise!" Ruby smiled.

Captain Dietrich nodded and left. Ruby took a moment to observe the area, noting a few Titans lurking around some of the buildings nearby. There was one Titan that was even making it's way up the wall of a building, attempting to climb onto the roof. Another one was leaning against the other side of that same building, aiming for Ian and Mitabi. It reached its hand out to snatch up Mitabi, but Mikasa was already there.

Mikasa swiftly launched herself off of the rooftop and swerved through the air on her wires. She swung herself towards the Titan's nape, slicing out the weak spot in an instant. The Titan collapsed against the building.

Ruby stole a glance at Eren's Titan, and in her gut, she knew something wasn't right. She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, attempting to determine what it was about him that felt... off? It took a moment for the fact to dawn on her.

The damage he'd sustained wasn't being repaired. His fists were still missing, and so was part of his face. His Titan body should have healed itself by now, shouldn't it?

Ruby was then distracted by another shout from a nearby rooftop. "A thirteen-metre! And from the looks of it, he's about to pounce on Jaeger!"

A Titan – apparently a thirteen-metre – was crawling on the rooftop, several feet away from Ian, Mitabi, and Mikasa.

"Heads up! We've got four more coming through the gate! All of them ten metres, at least!"

"Ruby, what do we do?" Blake turned to her.

Ruby clutched at her head. So many things were going on at once, she couldn't keep up, and it hurt her head to even try. She didn't know what she should answer Blake with, or what would be a good plan. Should she have Blake stay here and have one more hand in helping to protect Eren, or would Blake function better if she was sent out to find and help any other people?

"Do what you think is best. I don't know what will be best for you to in this situation, so I'm leaving you to make that decision yourself." Ruby told the older girl, grabbing Blake's shoulders. She was still loud enough to be heard by Blake, it seemed. Ruby raised her hand when Blake opened her mouth. "If you're going to ask me if I'm sure, yes; I'm sure. You're free. If you want to stay here with me and protect Eren, that's fine. If you want to go and help and save other people as well, I'll be fine with that as well. Just don't do anything... out of your league; please."

Blake's eyes widened, and she turned away, processing what Ruby had said. She spared a second to think before she nodded her head. "Alright," she said with a sigh, "I'll go and see how the others are doing. Jean and his friends would probably want help from one of us sooner or later. I trust you and Mikasa can handle protecting Eren?"

"Yeah. I don't see why we shouldn't be able—"

Ruby cut herself off as the sound of wires alerted her. When she looked to where the noise originated, she found Mikasa high above the Titan, flying behind it with the intent to kill. Mikasa descended upon its nape, slicing its weak spot with such ferocity that Ruby could have sworn she'd seen a blue streak, which came from her swords when she swung them.

The Titan's head laid flat on the ridge of the rooftop, and Mikasa used it as a platform to look over Eren. Ruby could've turned back to Blake and nodded, prompting the Faunus to leave the area.

"Ruby! Do you know where those Titans are coming from?" Mikasa suddenly asked her.

"Huh?" Ruby scratched her head. Her gaze turned to her left, where she found plenty of Titans walking the streets, disinterested in the clusters of Titans at the back of the district. It then occurred to her what Mikasa was talking about. Ruby extended Crescent Rose and stared back up at Mikasa. "No, I don't know!"

"There aren't enough of us to attract this many—!" Mikasa pointed out.

"Unless," Ruby's eyes landed on Eren, "they're after Eren! I don't know why, but they find him a more significant target than the soldiers in the decoy squad!" Ruby ascertained, watching as Mikasa's face paled.

"Mikasa! Ruby!"

Both girls were alerted by the sound of Armin's voice calling their names. Armin was standing on the top part of Eren's back, near his shoulder blades. Since when had he got there?

"Why'd the plan go belly up?!"

"Armin?!" both Mikasa and Ruby asked, surprised to see him. They hadn't even noticed him enter the fray.

"Why on earth is he just slumped here like this?!" Armin inquired again, motioning to Eren with his hand.

"Get away! It's dangerous!" Mikasa hastily warned him, swiping her sword at nothing. "Something went wrong! He lost control and wound up like that! I tried to snap him out of it, but I couldn't get him to respond! He's been out like this for the past few minutes!"

"But the plan—!" Armin tried to voice.

"We've had to shift-tack! All we can do is protect him! He's defenseless! And there's... there's just so many! I don't know how much longer we can keep this up!" Mikasa informed him. She seemed more than desperate, to the point where it disturbed even Ruby.

Armin spun around and stared at the nape of the Titan's neck, which was no doubt hiding Eren's actual body. Armin was about to grab one of his blades, but Ruby immediately leapt over to the blond and grabbed his hand.

"If we're planning stab a blade in there, I may as well be the one to do it." Ruby declared.

"Why you?" Armin nervously asked, confused as to why Ruby would suggest such a thing. "Do you think he'll answer you?"

"I've thought about the possibility that he's in a dream-like state, considering his body hasn't healed yet. I'm only going off my gut here, but my hypothesis is that whatever he's dreaming is distracting him from repairing his wounds, and he's completely forgotten that all of this is going on around him. If he's able to hear me, then it'll probably bring him back to the present." Ruby deduced, talking as the gears in her head spun. At this point, she may as well have spat out anything that made enough sense. "How else would you explain him not waking up or coming to his senses?"

"I'll admit, it may be a hypothesis, but with the way you put it, you have a point." Armin nodded. Ruby could see the gears in Armin's head, spinning ceaselessly behind his eyes. His eyes met Ruby's, and he nodded again. "Alright, I'm with you."

Ruby nodded and raised her Crescent Rose. At the bottom of the shaft was a small spear-like blade, which was red down the center, black in the middle, and had grey lining the outside. She pointed the blade down at the nape.

"From the back of the head to the nape of the neck," Armin revised as Ruby lowered her blade. "One metre high and ten centimetres across..."

"Ruby!" Mikasa called out to her, interrupting Armin.

"We're pulling him out of here!" Ruby answered Mikasa, refusing to look up. She was afraid of what she'd find if she lifted her head. "You just hold off the other Titans as long as you can!" she ordered the other girl.

"When Eren first emerged from this form, it was from the weak spot. I don't know, but something tells me that's a big part of the picture. How these damn things work." Armin ascertained, him and Ruby standing over the weak spot themselves. Ruby raised her Crescent Rose. "It'll be alright... as long as you don't hit the center. You won't kill him, but... well—"

"It is going to hurt."

Ruby knelt down just as she stabbed the blade into a part of the weak spot, piercing all the way through the Titan's skin. Eren's Titan let out a roar, notifying them of the pain that Ruby had caused to Eren's body. The previously comatose Titan went into a wild fit.

* * *

 **Eren Jaeger**

* * *

Eren felt as if he had just woken up from a nightmare, but found himself in the safe and comfortable sanctity of his own home, back in Shiganshina. Wall Maria hadn't been abandoned, his mother was still alive, and his father was sat at the table reading a newspaper. Even Mikasa was here, helping his mother clean up at the sink.

 _"Eren! Can you hear me?"_

At the sound of his name, Eren looked over his shoulder. There was nothing outside the window except a girl in a red cloak, who was standing on the other side of the glass. She seemed familiar and admittedly very adorable, but he was surprised that he couldn't remember her name. What was her name? And how did she know him? Why couldn't he remember her?

 _"You've got to pull it together! If you stay like this, we're all going to die!"_ she yelled, the palms of her hands pressing against the window. _"Whatever this body's doing to you, fight it! You're Eren Jaeger! What's this steaming lump of flesh have on you, huh?!"_

 _'What's she talking about? Fight...?'_ Eren wondered. _'What...? I'm tired...'_

 _"Come on, damn it! Wake up!"_ Armin's voice cried out. The hands of his childhood friend were pressed against the window now, as he stood beside the girl. _"Get out of there!"_ the boy shouted, banging his fist on the glass. _"We need you!"_

 _"Get out of whatever delusion you're in and come back to us!"_ the girl yelled, also banging her fist on the window. _"Eren!"_

 _"Your mom, remember?! Remember what they did to her?! You were bent on avenging her death!"_ Armin bashed his fist harder against the window. Surprisingly, the window did not break or crack, although he felt as if it should have. _"You swore to massacre the Titans!"_

"You're not making any sense, Armin." Eren said, even as the strange silver eyes of the girl beside Armin began to water. Her lip twitched as she started punching the window, her knuckles white. Eren attempted to ignore her and instead looked at his mother, who was staring back at him with a softened expression. "Open your eyes. Mom's not dead."

 _"Eren! Eren, please! You have to push through it!"_ the girl cried, hiccupping as tears streamed down her face. She paused to wipe her tears away, but she kept on crying regardless. _"Listen... I know how it feels to lose a mother. I've been through it myself. I don't know what kind of delusion you're in right now, but you need to wake up, Eren. Come back to the real world."_ she told him, overwhelming him with her sincerity. _"Is your mother there with you, inside your dream?"_

"Huh...?" Eren arched a brow, squinting at her over his shoulder. It was starting to play with his temper that he didn't understand what they were trying to tell him. And why. "Been through what before? Didn't you hear me? My mom's not dead – she's right here with me. Can't you see that?"

 _"If she is then I can only assume what you're going through right now is denial. I understand if you don't understand why we're saying she's gone, but in the real world, she_ is _gone."_ the girl stated, her voice carrying traces of sympathy. Was it for him? If so, why? _"You know, you're reminding me of me, back when I was little. When_ _I first got the news that my mom had died while out on a mission, I was in denial. I couldn't accept that she was gone and that I'd never see her again. I naïvely believed that she was going to come back home one day, that she'd surprise us by walking through the door... but she didn't, and as time passed, I realised that she wouldn't. Every so often I would visit the altar just to update her on what had been happening in my life. I guess I was even naïve enough to think she would respond_ _."_ she informed him, chuckling. She seemed to be mocking her own foolishness and childish ignorance. Her gaze lowered while tears continued to pour down her face. Eren glanced at her over his shoulder, wondering how her story related to him, and why she'd decided to tell him this That didn't apply to him. _"Please, don't let yourself be as naïve as me! You'll only end up hurting yourself more! You can't let your grief control you like mine controlled me!"_

 _"I know you're in there! Listen to us!"_ Armin yelled through the window. _"If you don't get a move on, the Titans are going to kill us! It will all end right here!"_ Armin's punches on the window became more defiant, more determined, and noisier than the last.

"Seriously, what the hell's gotten into you?" Eren asked his blond friend. "What's this _'get a move on'_ crap? I don't wanna... move anything. This right here's good enough for me." he remarked. His eyes widened. "It's not like I want to be a Scout..."

His mother's head slowly swivelled and she aimed her gaze at Eren over her shoulder. Her expression was one of thankfulness, as if she hadn't wanted Eren to be a Scout in the first place. From what Eren could tell, she was at least content, even happy.

Eren would do anything to keep it that way.

* * *

 **Jean Kirschtein**

* * *

After the death of their squad leader, Jean, Annie, and Connie were officially on their own. At least three Titans had been chasing them, but two of them had disappeared when Annie split from him and Connie.

One of them had decided to chase Connie and was gaining on him fairly quickly. The Titan itself attempted to scoop up Connie by dragging its hand across the ground, but Connie narrowly managed to dodge it by performing a somersault. With a push from his gas, Connie fired a wire at a nearby wall for some method of support, only to have the hook bounce off of the surface.

Connie stopped in his tracks. "What the—?!"

The Titan raised its hand, bending down as Connie pivoted in place.

No; none of his friends were going to die if he could prevent it.

Jean fired one of his wires at the palm of the Titan's hand, which managed to steal its focus. It ignored Connie and instead decided to aim its sights on Jean himself.

"JEAN!" Connie called out to him in a panic.

"Get up the wall!" Jean ordered him. Instantly after doing so, he swivelled on his heel and began sprinting away from the Titan. He barely managed to avoid being crushed by the Titan's hand, which struck the ground behind him. Jean raced faster down the street. _'I'm sick and tired of people dying because of me!'  
_  
Jean heard the Titan move, but halted his sprint when he heard it pause its movements immediately after. When he turned around to see what had happened, Jean found that the Titan wasn't able to fit between the buildings, therefore it could not reach Jean.

Thinking he had a moment to escape to the rooftops, where it would undoubtedly be safer, Jean pressed the triggers on his holders in order to shoot his wires. For some odd reason, the wires didn't fire. Jean tried the triggers again. After a few more attempts, Jean still couldn't get a reaction from his gear.

"You malfunction now?" Jean questioned in disbelief. Of all the times his gear had to be faulty, _this_ was the moment?

However, Jean's luck was apparently getting worse, as another Titan approached him. Jean stared at the Titan from over his shoulder, noting the look of disgust plastered on the Titan's face. Its hand descended upon Jean, prompting Jean to evade the attack and sprint as fast as his legs could take him. The Titan slowly chased after him at a moderate strolling speed, while Jean raced to escape the sight of the new Titan.

"I am not going to die today!"

He figured it would be better to hide rather than run, so he dived through the door of the next house he came to. As soon as he got into the house, he slammed the door behind him and slumped down against it.

"Way to go, dragging everybody down. Great job." he sarcastically mocked himself, a sigh escaping his lips.

The sound of the Titan's footsteps suddenly alerted Jean, and he looked out of the window. The Titan appeared to be patrolling the street. In his peripheral view, Jean noticed the corpse of another soldier whose top half had been crushed by a rock. His gear wasn't damaged, though. In fact, considering the soldier's untimely demise, his gear appeared to be in good condition.

 _"_ Maybe I won't die today."

* * *

 **Eren Jaeger**

* * *

 _"Eren... please... for me... for Ruby... wake up..."_ Armin muttered, his shouting turning to begging. The blond ceased trying to produce cracks in the window, and the girl had stopped crying too, but the palms of her hands remained on the window. _"Remember when we were kids? All we could talk about was the world outside."_ he revelled with a smile. Eren's eyes widened as he recalled the memory of Armin approaching him with a book about the outside world. How beautiful the land outside the walls was. _"_ _You know, beyond the walls. Frozen tundra that stretches to the skies, sand dunes, oceans, forests. The world my parents wanted to see. I'd always thought you'd outgrown that dream. I was kind of sad it didn't come up anymore. But then I realized you let it go because you didn't want me to join the Scouts."_

"No, I... just..." Eren could hardly speak. The memories were flooding into his mind. He rose to his feet, disregarding the blanket that was previously wrapped around him. As the blanket dropped to the floor, his mother, father, and Mikasa stared at him from over their shoulders.

 _"Tell me, honestly; even though your first step beyond the walls meant the difference between a warm part and Hell on earth, even though it meant risking your life, gambling against the possibility of dying like my parents... why? Why throw caution to the wind and venture outside?"_

Eren slowly turned around, his eyes locking with Armin's. Everything came back to him. His Titan abilities. His mother's death. Ruby. Weiss. Blake. Yang. The fall of Wall Maria. The operation to retake Trost. The three years he spent as a trainee in the military.

His dream to be a Scout.

"What kind of question is that?" Eren asked. "Don't play dumb; you know damn well why."

His heart clenched with the determination he was so well-known for, and the delusion he was in began to burn away.

"Because... **the world beyond the wall is my birth right!** "

An explosion blasted him out of the delusion and into reality.

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

Eren's Titan shook back to life with an ear-piercing roar. Well, Ruby thought it was a roar. Though to be honest, it sounded more like an angry screech that would leave any person with a sore throat.

Armin managed to backflip onto one of the rooftops to the right of them. The ground shook, and so did Eren. Ruby knew it would be best to get to a safer place, but she couldn't seem to pull the blade out of where she'd stabbed it in. In fact, it wouldn't be out of the question to say that her weapon had gotten stuck in the flesh. With a roll of her eyes, Ruby growled in frustration.

"Ruby! It's dangerous on there!" Armin warned her.

"I know, but my weapon's stuck! I can't leave just leave my sweetheart Crescent Rose behind!" Ruby told him, turning to look at him over her shoulder. "But nevermind me! All that matters is that you managed to get through to him!" Ruby smiled at the blond boy. She didn't mind if the story about her mother would stick with Eren or not. She had just wanted to make a point about losing a dearly beloved mother like he had done, but she didn't intend to get so emotional about it. She had assumed she'd grown up so much and had managed to accept her mother's fate to the point where talking about it wouldn't make her cry anymore. There would surely be some people who'd want to know the who, what, how, and why.

"What will you do? Don't tell me you're just going to stay there!" Armin questioned, his eyes widened as he stared at her incredulously.

"I'll find a way out of my predicament! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Ruby blinked her remaining tears away and gave Armin a wide grin. "Besides, if I didn't do something insane now, then there's no way I would be able to call myself Ruby Rose! So go and do your own thing, and I'll do mine, alright?"

Armin's features contorted into a troubled expression, but he otherwise nodded. "Alright. Just don't do anything too reckless. Eren can't carry the boulder and defend you when you put yourself in danger—!"

Armin suddenly cut himself off, staring in horror at something near Ruby. Ruby herself arched a brow before she felt something tug Crescent Rose out of Eren's nape and lift her up with it too. When Ruby was able to see what it was, her expression became deadpan. Eren had his mouth open and dangled Ruby above it by her scythe. He let go of her scythe, giving Ruby the chance to clip her weapon back onto her belt as she fell, before landing on the underside of Eren's tongue.

Once Eren's tongue covered her again, Ruby crawled towards his teeth, sticking her head out from under the tongue. There was a gap in-between the teeth for her to see through, and she assumed that others would be able to hear her if she shouted loud enough.

"Ruby! Are you okay in there?!" Armin bellowed outside.

"Yeah, I'm fine! He did this earlier!" Ruby peeked her head between the gap. "At this point, I've already gotten used to it!"

"Which part of his mouth are you in?"

"I'm underneath his tongue." Ruby deadpanned, releasing a sigh from her lips shortly thereafter. "Like I said, though, I'll be fine! I'll provide support and backup from here! I can still give orders as a team leader! Now go!"

"If you say so!" Armin nodded, though he sounded uneasy. He spun on his heel and fired his wires, exiting the area as soon as Eren picked up the boulder. Ruby could feel the tension growing in the muscles of Eren's Titan whilst he hoisted the boulder over his head, settling it on his shoulder blades.

Once he began his trek toward the gate, the plan was officially back in action.

* * *

 **Blake Belladonna**

* * *

Blake's eyes darted around her surroundings, cautiously eyeing the five Titans closing in on her. There were too many for her liking, but she couldn't find it in herself to expend more energy fighting Titans that _didn't_ have their sights on anyone other than herself.

She could easily escape them without a trace, depending on how many she was facing, and whether or not there were any windows open. However, she couldn't find a window in sight. The five Titans came from five different directions, and a few more were approaching them, closing off any room for even so much as an attempt at escape.

Blake gritted her teeth. Her chances of getting attacked by more than one of the Titans was better than good. Her own acrobatic and manoeuvring capabilities were good too, but she doubted they were good enough to get her out of this situation.

She'd have to put her Semblance to work and run away. _Again_.

Letting a sigh escape her lips, Blake steadied herself into a defensive stance. She kicked her senses into overdrive.

Any slight movement...

Any sound of an incoming attack...

Any smell that could tell her if there were any more Titans nearby...

She'd sense it all.

The arm of the Titan in front of her barely twitched before she leapt into the air, narrowly evading the hand of the Titan beside it. With the sound of the slow movement of another Titan, Blake immediately tossed the blade of her Gambol Shroud at the eye of the Titan in front of her. She combined her Shadow Semblance and the Fire Dust in the cartridge that Weiss had left her with, only leaving behind an explosive, lava-like statue of herself.

A precaution, to be honest. Hopefully, she'd do some damage to the Titans if any one of them hit it. Not to mention she was able to propel herself from it.

Once landing on the head of the approximate fifteen-metre she aimed for, Blake's eyes once again scoured her surroundings for any movement or incoming attacks.

In her peripheral view, a hand aimed to smack her off of the Titan's head. She left behind another shadow of herself, reappearing a couple of feet away, on a nearby rooftop just behind the Titan furthest away from the circle. The hand instead hit the Titan's head and decapitated it. The Titan's detached head flew into the shadow-statue made of Fire Dust. The nearby area exploded and damaged the first wave of Titans.

Sprinting along the rooftops, Blake aimed to get away from the scene. The fireworks would surely attract a lot of attention.

"What the hell's going on up there?!"

"What caused that explosion?"

"It must be one of those girls!"

"I knew they were nuts! If they're going to do something as reckless as that, then we'd just be better off without them!"

"Why do I get the feeling some of these soldiers are prejudicial towards us?" Blake arched a brow, making a note of the way they spoke of Blake and her other three teammates. The way some of them were towards Blake and her teammates felt very familiar. "I wonder what crawled up their pants and died."

The specific train of thought was short-lived, though, as her eyes caught Jean sprinting out of a house and kneeling beside another unfortunate soldier that had been crushed to death with a rock. Upon approaching Jean, Blake realised that Jean was attempting to take the dead soldier's gear. Jean himself did not have any gear on his person, either. Blake paused, confused.

Had something happened to his gear?

"If I wait for the all clear, I'll never make it out alive." Jean said to himself, pulling on the leather straps that kept the gear attached to the soldier's corpse. "I've gotta do something!"

"JEAN!" Blake's bow twitched at the faint sound of Connie's shout.

"Damnit!" Jean grunted, tightening his grip as he pulled harder on the straps. "Come on! Work with me here!"

Blake tensed when the sound of a Titan's footfalls echoed behind her, accompanied by the vibrations of the street, caused by the sheer size of its feet and the way it stumbled through the street. Blake shared a moment of eye contact with it from the corner of her eye, but didn't react quick enough.

Its large hand caught her in its grasp, its fingers enveloping her torso. On instinct, Blake opened her mouth and released a defiant scream – not of fear, but as a primal need to do so. With limited options, Blake readied the Fire Dust in her Gambol Shroud again and slipped through the Titan's hand, using another shadow-statue made of Fire Dust in her place.

Blake landed with a roll in the street below. It took her a moment to regain her balance, briefly shaken by what one would have classed as a near-death experience. However, she was given no time to relax, as she was then alerted by the sound of an explosion. Staring over her shoulder at the source of the explosion, Blake found that the Titan had attempted to eat the self-made statue of herself, which ultimately caused an explosion.

The Titan's face was missing and smoke arose from the damage it had sustained. One of its hands was also missing, as was the entirety of its jaw.

"Blake, Jean! Look out!" Marco shouted. The sound of his gas snapped Blake's gaze towards him, and she couldn't help but stare when he zipped past what remained of the Titan's face, landing several feet away from Blake.

"Marco?!" Jean called out in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Once Marco landed, he stepped back to regain his balance, before beginning a sprint in the opposite direction. The Titan's eyes – or rather, what remained of them – followed Marco, and it eventually turned around. Even without a mouth to use for killing, the Titan still followed Marco, oblivious to the fact he was leading it away from Jean.

"Marco!" Blake yelled at him, putting one foot forward. "Just get to safety! It won't be eating anyone anytime soon, so just avoid its grasp and get to where it can't reach you!" Blake advised. Once she paused her shouting, all she could do was hope Marco had heard her.

Blake's attention was again diverted by the sound of Jean grunting. Looking back over her shoulder, Blake found that Jean had successfully removed the gear from the corpse and was proceeding to attach it to his person. Once doing so, Jean took off in a sprint.

Blake followed Jean as he turned a corner into another street. Another Titan was up ahead. It wasn't a particularly tall Titan: with fully functional gear, one would be able to fly above its head and run.

Apparently Jean had the same idea.

He fired his new wires at the up, the hooks piercing the edges of rooftops that were out of view. Gas was released from his gear and he flew into the air, propelling himself over the Titan's shoulder. Unfortunately, his gas gave out and his wires withdrew themselves, causing him to perform an accidental somersault and fall to the ground behind the Titan.

"Jean!" Blake shouted as she dashed over to him, skidding on her knees until she ended up beside him. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Just a rough landing! I'm fine!" Jean answered, staring at Blake from the corner of his eye. He dragged his arm across the ground, holding the handle of his sword near his face. He pressed the trigger on the handle, but he had trouble doing so, as the trigger was – for lack of a better word – stiff. "You've gotta be kidding me! Why is the trigger so stiff?!" he asked himself, once more attempting to press the trigger, but still with no result.

As the Titan drew closer, Blake figured that she couldn't carry Jean away _and_ help the other soldiers fight the Titans at the same time. Still, she grabbed Jean by his arm and heaved him up off the ground.

"JEAN!"

As soon as she heard Connie's voice, the boy in question leapt from one of the rooftops, directly aiming for the side of the Titan's head. Blake was terrified of witnessing another tragedy, so she closed her eyes in an attempt to stop herself from seeing whatever she assumed would happen.

Yet... what she heard wasn't the sound of him being eaten alive. It was the sound of pain, as if Connie had just hit the Titan with his own body. Blake opened one eye in time to see Connie's knee slam against the side of the Titan's forehead before Connie flew onto the other rooftop across from the one he had just jumped from. Blake opened her eyes fully and blinked rapidly when she heard a rather loud "OW!" come from Connie as he landed on the rooftop and spared a moment to look down at Jean and Blake.

"What are you, insane?!" Jean immediately yelled at Connie.

Connie rubbed the back of his head with his forearm before replying with, "What are you waiting for?! Get out of there!" and narrowly evaded the hand of the Titan, which came crashing down with the intent to squash him.

"You heard him! Let's go!" Blake tightened her grip on Jean's arm and ran as fast as her legs could take her.

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

Ruby knew that Eren couldn't rush this. If he did, his own balance would be history, and he would fall, taking the boulder with him. Everything was going well so far too, it seemed. Ruby just hoped that he could keep this up for long enough to reach the gate.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby noticed Armin regroup with the elite squad, beginning to tell them everything.

"Eren came out of it! We're set! He's determined to see the mission through to the end!" Armin informed them, appearing to gain hope with every step Eren made. "As long as we've got his back while he's heading for the wall, victory _will_ be ours!"

" **Defend them!** " Ian ordered, his shouts capturing the attention of all of the soldiers around him. "To the last man if that's what it comes to! Eren must reach the gate! **I don't want a single Titan anywhere near him!** "

Eren was slowly approaching the gate just as more Titans came strolling through the hole in the wall. There were about five of them, and they all had their focus on Eren. Ruby could see three men on the ground, sprinting up behind the Titans as if they were trying to gain their attention. The leading Titan at the front was almost near Eren, but was stopped in its path by something that one of the men had said, and instead turned their attention to the men behind them.

It turned out that the three men were Mitabi and two of his soldiers.

Team Mitabi had turned around and were sprinting away from the Titans that were now following them, trying to lead them away from Eren so that he could carry on.

Blake leapt down from the top of Wall Rose – why had she even been up there? – and onto the pavement. Armin and Mikasa followed on behind Blake, helping her lead Eren to the gate.

"You're almost there! As long as you can keep going, you've got this!" Ruby encouraged him as they arrived at the bridge that led directly to the gate, where one Titan was still blocking it. "Blake!" Ruby called out to her teammate, who already knew what to do.

"Got it!" Blake responded, holding her katana in one hand and her sheath in the other.

She threw the katana at the shoulder of the Titan and swerved around the side of it, swinging through the air as she held onto the ribbon attached to the hilt. Rolling onto the shoulder of the Titan, Blake immediately picked up her katana and stabbed it into the top part of the beginning of the weak spot on her side, digging the sheath into the lower part as well. Blake ran across the nape of its neck, dragging her blades through the weak spot until they reached the other side of it. The Titan dropped to the ground, dead, as a chunk of flesh slipped out of the back of its neck. Blake kicked herself off of its shoulder and landed with a roll on the side of the bridge, out of Eren's way.

"The path's clear! Keep moving!" she yelled.

Eren walked over the dead Titan's body and was only a few metres from the gate.

"GO!" Armin and Ruby screamed in unison, their voices prompting Eren to push his strength into overdrive as he let out a defiant scream.

Eren moved the boulder over his head and pushed it forward, lodging the boulder into the wall with such ferocity that smoke and steam arose from the edges of the now sealed breach. Still, the boulder stuck perfectly.

Everything was quiet once the boulder was finally put in place. Ruby had tears in her eyes at the mission's success, as did Armin.

The plan had succeeded. It was humanity's victory.

Finally.

However, the silent celebration didn't last long, before Eren lost his footing and collapsed, his knees pummelling towards the ground as if in slow motion.

" **EREN!** " Ruby called out to him, though received no response. Ruby pushed open his teeth and leapt out of Eren's open mouth, reaching out to grab his hand to slow his fall, but she missed. Due to Eren's size, he was falling too hard and too fast for her, and even if she would have used her Speed Semblance, she didn't have a chance to concentrate in order to use it. This continual drawback to her Semblance had happened on many occasions prior, and only served to remind her that she needed to train more with it.

Thankfully, with her fast acting, Ruby managed to extend Crescent Rose again, and fired a few rounds under her to stop herself from falling so quickly along with him. Meanwhile, Eren's knees collided with the ground, causing a cracking sound to erupt from his kneecaps. Ruby flinched.

Ruby's feet made contact with the ground just as Crescent Rose transformed into its compacted storage form and clipped back onto the back of her belt again. But as soon as her boots made contact with the stone ground, Ruby rushed over to Eren's knees and raised her head to look up at his face. Eren's Titan form was exhausted and defeated after that mission, but he needed to be freed from that Titan body now. The skin of the Titan had started to boil over and evaporate with the heat. They had to minimise the damage his decaying Titan body did to him.

"Armin, Mikasa! We need to get Eren out of here!" Ruby shouted at them. Turning to the two of them, Ruby motioned for them to follow her. "Mikasa, you're on guard with me!"

Mikasa nodded in response, accompanying Ruby as Rico regrouped with them. She had already sent out her last smoke signal, which was yellow.

In only a couple of seconds, Armin had reached the weak spot of Eren's quickly decaying Titan form, and had begun the process of tearing Eren away from the flesh. Armin grunted as his arms enveloped Eren's body, which was burning with intense heat even though he wasn't on fire. Then again, who said it was necessary to be engulfed in flames in order to burn? And although Armin tried to pull Eren out of the weak spot, Eren was still fused to the carcass, which gave Armin a hard time with the effort.

"Armin! How's he doing?" Mikasa yelled up at him.

"He's unconscious and scorching to the touch!" Armin responded, desperation clear in his voice.

Mikasa and Ruby shared a knowing look and regrouped with Armin.

"He's fused to the carcass! I can't pull him out!" Armin tried to pull Eren out again, but his efforts were futile.

"Then we cut the carcass off him." Ruby declared, swinging her scythe at the flesh that kept Eren attached to his Titan corpse. Armin fell back with a not-so-manly screech and landed on the ground below.

Armin was still holding Eren when a shadow loomed over the group. Ruby and Mikasa hopped down to join him, while Armin raised his head to look up, and saw two Titans nearing their location. There were too many people.

"Ruby! Armin!" Blake raced over to them, skidding to a halt in front of them, holding up her katana and sheath.

But just when Blake was about to move, a wire struck the neck of one Titan, before a small figure with a green cloak spun down from the sky, spinning his two blades as he sliced out a chunk of its weak spot in record time. Ruby almost went dizzy as her eyes followed him when he advanced on the remaining Titan, swirling through the air towards it with speed that Ruby hadn't seen any other soldier use as of yet. He swiftly took out the Titan with little effort, and the last Titan fell face-first on the ground in front of them. Blake had to backflip to the back of the group in order to avoid getting crushed by the Titan's corpse.

The figure landed on the Titan's back, giving Ruby and the others a clear view of the emblem on his cape. Eren's head rose up to see the figure and he gazed through half-lidded eyes at the emblem with what Ruby perceived to be either familiarity or recognition, or at least a combination of the two. The mystery man turned his head and glared at the group over his shoulder.

"Pay attention, kiddos. This is the part where you explain to me exactly what it is I'm looking at."

* * *

 **QUESTIONS** **  
**

 **Akuma-Heika asked:  
** **What infection would catch, and spread, that fast? Even discounting Yang's superimmune system from her aura, it would take time for a disease to spread in her system enough for her body to be producing a fever, not the hour or two at most since she was eaten...even if you allow for diseases not encountered by their immune systems.** {For chapter 5}  
— _What Yang has is not a disease, nor an infection. In fact, it's_ only _influenza - or the flu, to put it simply. Any one of the girls of Team RWBY could have caught at least the flu from being inside a Titan's stomach, what with all those mutilated corpses and blood and the overwhelming chance to contract something from all of the bacteria in there. The fever and fatigue were just starters; a warning sign, if you will.  
_ _^So I managed to rewrite the story a bit to make more sense. Yang no longer has one of the fastest cases of anyone I know getting influenza, but instead she is simply suddenly ill from the trauma and shock of being in the Titan's stomach, and you'll find out why it had more of a lasting effect on her than it did on Eren in the next few chapters. If you read or know the story of 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', then there's a part of it where when Jekyll transforms back from Hyde in front of his best friend Lanyon, and Lanyon becomes ill and eventually dies from the shock of it. Yang's case is something similar to that with the corpses she saw, except it's combined with a bit of PTSD, and Yang won't die like Lanyon did. Also, with Yang's case, I'm mainly going off one or two 'Haikyuu!' fanfics I've been reading where Hinata gets injured or hurt badly and Kageyama has slight PTSD because he witnessed it happen. Granted, I'm also going off of what happened with Yang in RWBY Volume 4 and how she recovered, but those fanfics are also my guides for this. Also, thanks for telling me about the Titans not having digestive tracks and therefore not having stomach acid. Really explains why Eren didn't also burn up when he was eaten and ended up in the Titan's stomach. But Ruby, Weiss, and Blake don't know this yet, but they will be told soon. Anyway, thanks for your input!  
_


	10. Chapter 10 – Two Days After

**{1.} You're welcome for this new chapter! This story is not abandoned!**

 **{2.}** **Thank you to all the people who didn't just automatically jump onto the hate train when I said I didn't like Mikasa. Especially those who have her as their favourite character. And I just want to say that even though I still don't like Mikasa, I do see why she is your favourite character in AoT, and there is a part of me that does still see the good in Mikasa's character and the way she is portrayed throughout the series. Anyway, I just wanted to say that for those of you who probably felt hurt by my remarks about Mikasa. I apologise if I upset you with my opinion on her. I don't know if I said this before, but after watching season 2 of Attack on Titan, I just feel that she is partially the reason why we don't get much on character development and the progression of other characters. Eren is quite similar in that aspect, too.**

 **{3.}** **If anyone has any ideas for some fanart for specific scenes in this story, then I encourage you to follow through with those ideas. Seriously, I'd love to see some fanart for this story.**

 **{4.} Speaking of** **fanart, this is an optional request from me {I assume I'm allowed to make these}. If you can, can you try and create some fanart for the AoT characters when their Semblances are revealed? Or if you can't, you can still help out with the story: I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm not necessarily a creative person, and I have a hard time using my imagination for Semblances or coming up with creative but still logical attacks for things like this, so if you have any ideas, I'd be genuinely grateful for the assistance. And also: I'm still trying to work my way around this whole Beta reader thing, so if you have any advice for that and want to become one for this story, it'd be more than appreciated!**

 **{5.} The reason I was encouraged to get my muse back with this is because I started watching season 2 of AoT/SnK. To be honest, if you're curious, my train of thought as I was watching it was basically just this:**  
 ** _"I wonder what it would be like if Team RWBY and more characters from the RWBY-verse were with the cast of AoT during these times. Oh, wait, I still have that one fanfic that probably over 10,000 (over 15,000 now!) people are waiting for me to update. I can actually put my ideas somewhere."  
_** **And that was how I became motivated again. You're welcome.**

 **{6.} Some names of the characters are the anime rendition of the original ones. Some names don't change in the anime version of AoT/SnK, but some names do. Like Nile Dok, or Nile 'Dawk' as it is in the anime.**

 **{7.} Final thing. Okay, so since this story is being updated, and by the time this updated chapter and the future ones come out, the first chapter or two of two of my newer fanfics, _Series 1_ _—_ _Z_ and _Series 2 —_** ** _X_ , would have been published, and ****_Series 3_** ** _— N_** **is in the works at the moment, but that may or may not also be out as well by the time this is published** **. And so, I'd like to ask if anyone would like to see references to those fanfics in this one. Like, for instance, the RWBY girls talking about some moments that happened over the course of either of the three fanfics, or talking to the AoT characters about the characters they met in the other fanfics. I'm not sure if you'd want to see this, but let me know what you think!**

* * *

 **Eren Jaeger**

* * *

Eren gasped when he awoke, shocked, shaken, and sweating. The lighting in the room he woke up to was quite dark, and he didn't need to see the walls to know that candles were the sole source of the dim light, which seemed to cut off outside the room he was in. He sat up in the bed, trying to remember what had happened prior to waking up. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and the new surroundings he found himself in, but when his vision cleared, he found the Commander of the Scout Regiment, Erwin Smith, sat on a chair outside of the... wait, the bars of a jail cell? So Eren was a prisoner now? Great; just what he needed!

Coming out of those thoughts, Eren's eyes glanced to the person standing beside the chair Commander Erwin was sitting on. Stood there, leaning with his back on the wall and his arms folded over his chest, was Captain Levi, also known as Humanity's Strongest. Rumour had it he had as much power as an entire brigade, which meant that he, as a soldier, was worth three or more battalions, and from 1500 to 3500 soldiers. Eren assumed it just depended on the day. Still, no one had doubted the rumours.

It was common knowledge that Mikasa was worth only 100 soldiers, yet still people managed to fear her, and sometimes, this included Eren and Armin too. So, if people feared Mikasa, Eren could only dare to imagine what level of fear those same people would feel if they crossed paths with Captain Levi and knew how many more soldiers he was worth than Mikasa.

Eren blinked those thoughts away – he was tense as he was with the Commander and the Captain staring at him expectantly. He didn't need to think like that: it was only going to make him more afraid. So, he focused on the most important questions he could think of.

Why were they here?

Why was he locked up, presumably in a dungeon, and in chains?

And where was Ruby and Weiss and Blake and Yang?

Motivated by that last question, Eren decided to let his eyes scour the room, and he found the diminutive girl herself on the floor directly beside his bed, wrapped in her own red cloak and sleeping contently, her head laid on Blake's shoulder. Unlike Ruby, Blake was awake, but she was leaning against the wall with her back and the back of her head, her eyes on the ceiling. She must've heard Eren getting up, because she moved her head away from the wall and returned his eye contact. Though, from the looks of it, Blake's eyes were blank, and she squinted her eyes at him, as if it was difficult to see him. Then again, the room was quite dark.

"Was she that tired from what happened in Trost?" Eren asked first, his eyes trailing over to Ruby.

Blake turned her head in Ruby's direction, but Eren was convinced she could barely see Ruby even from being so close. "She was pretty exhausted, but she managed to sleep it off when the soldiers took us in with you after the gate had been sealed. She didn't know how much time had passed down here and decided to get some sleep in. Last I heard, it's been two whole days since the attack, so it was bound to happen either way." After that, Blake shrugged her shoulders and hesitantly moved her arm, not looking in Ruby's direction as she waved her arm around and eventually laid her arm over Ruby's shoulders. Once finding Ruby's shoulder, Blake pulled the girl in closer. "Anyway, would you happen to have a light? Whatever we're in has no source of light and I've practically gone blind."

"Huh?! You mean you can't see in the dark?!" Eren's eyes widened and he stared at Blake incredulously. What had happened to her eyesight while he was unconscious?

"Barely. It happens sometimes though—"

"Any questions?" Commander Erwin suddenly asked the two of them, his tone unmistakably booming and loud and authoritarian, matching his rank splendidly. Blake and Eren both tensed at his voice. Perhaps he had grown tired of listening to their conversation?

"Yes," Blake hesitantly nodded. "Who are you and who's the one you're here with?"

"I thought you were blind." responded Levi, cocking his head to the side. He gave Blake a nasty glare, probably trying to intimidate her.

"My gut's telling me you're glaring at me. Eren, is he glaring?"

Eren scratched the back of his head as his mouth hung open, his lips quivering as he felt the Captain's glare burning holes into _him_. "I heard that he, uh, he often glares at people."

"Oh. Not a people person. Got it." Blake attempted a thumbs-up and a small smile, but she didn't aim it at Eren. At first glance, it would have looked like she was directing it to the Commander and Captain. She dropped both the smile and her hand a second later. "Anyway, I may have temporarily lost my sight, but that doesn't mean I lost my hearing too. I heard two pairs of footsteps entering a while ago, and neither footsteps left. I knew there were two people in here either way. So, who'd you come to speak to first – Eren, or me and Ruby?"

"Well, since you ask, we might as well start with you two. The issue of you girls being here isn't as big as the unique ability Eren has, and judging by you and your team's actions during the battle of Trost, I'd say we may as well get your case out of the way first. Would you agree?" Commander Erwin asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"I would agree, actually. I'll wake Ruby up. She'll probably help you more than I can." Blake blinked and turned to Ruby, gently shaking the girl by her shoulder. "Ruby."

Ruby's body twitched and Eren could've sworn he'd heard a sleeping snort come from the girl. Ruby's eyelids fluttered open and her brows furrowed, before she wearily pushed herself off of Blake and the wall, shuffling into a seating position. She turned to Blake, then to Commander Erwin, and then to Captain Levi, and then back to Blake. "I assume you can't see them?"

"I can't even see you."

"Great." Ruby's shoulders slumped and she stuck her bottom lip out, her gaze lowering to the ground. She lifted her head again to get a good look at the Commander and Captain, before she tilted her head, raising a brow. "Weren't you the one who saved us after Eren sealed the breach in Trost?" she asked with her eyes on the Captain.

"What's it to you?" Captain Levi bluntly responded, but Eren could see that the Captain had tensed up. There were also rumours among the soldiers that Humanity's Strongest wasn't a people person. In fact, a lot of people had come forward saying that he seemed to be a rather closed-off individual that cut himself off from others. Still, what with being one of the most famous soldiers in the Scout Regiment, it probably came with a lot of horrific sights. Not to mention he was a veteran, too.

However, if Ruby noticed, she didn't let on. "How did you do that spinning attack and move so fast? Can you teach me how to do it?"

"I'll... _consider_ it."

"Anyway, what do you want to know?" Blake lifted her head, blindly staring in the direction of Commander Erwin.

"Well, the world you came from, to start with. And while you're at it, we'd like to know what exactly you are." Commander Erwin pointed at Blake after Ruby cocked her head to the side. Ruby's eyes widened and she turned to Blake, her expression softening.

"He means me specifically, doesn't he?" Blake leant back on the wall.

"I doubt they'll think of you any differently as long as you explain your circumstance fully. You've already proven that you'll go to any length to help the soldiers." Ruby shuffled towards Blake, holding the girl by her shoulders. Ruby spun back to the Commander. "Please promise that you'll listen to whatever she has to say. I know you may be having a hard time with trust at the moment, but Blake's already proven herself as an ally, just like the rest of us. The least you could do is hear her out."

Commander Erwin didn't waste a second, and nodded his head. "That's a promise I have no problem keeping."

"I'm willing to listen," Captain Levi also piped up, surprisingly. "There's obviously some reason why you're keeping something from us."

Ruby nodded and passed a warm smile at Eren, before she gently picked Blake up off the ground and helped her stand. "You can do it, Blake."

Blake nodded, uneasily, and she raised her hands to her bow. She untied the ribbon and when her ribbon fell into her palm, Eren saw she had black cat ears on the top of her head, which twitched once she let them free. Eren's mouth hung open in shock. He knew there was something she was hiding, but the ears of an animal? Really?

"The world we come from is called Remnant, and there are two main races of people that inhabit that world. There are Humans, and then there are people who look like humans but have the characteristics and traits of animals. The latter, like me, are called Faunus. Faunus traits vary. For example, I am a cat-type Faunus, as evidenced by my cat ears, proof of my Faunus heritage. The reason why I hide my identity from normal humans is because the Faunus were and sometimes still are subject to discrimination and hate by them, and some humans even go out of our way to use Faunus for working labour forces, believing that since we are second-class citizens, they can do what they want with us. While there are the few that are accepting of Faunus, the Humans, as a whole, are not. I hide my heritage because I'd rather people see me for _who_ I am, not _what_ I am. And besides," Blake paused and Ruby glanced back at Eren, "what with Eren's situation, I didn't want to stir up any more trouble. And if you're wondering, cats go practically blind when there's little to no light. Hence this." Blake pointed up at her blank yellow eyes.

"I see. It's a shame your experiences have forced you to hide away like that." The Commander sounded... sorry, almost. His glanced down at the floor, then back up at Blake again. "Is there nothing more you would rather get off your chest now?"

"I would tell you more, if you're willing to listen, but my teammates and I are willing to teach anyone interested about Remnant and its history anyway. If given permission to do so, we can explain more then and give you some clarity about where we come from. It would also help you understand and learn how to fight more like we do." Blake suggested as she proceeded to tie her ribbon back over her cat ears, covering them up with the bow.

"I'm sure we'll be able to get that sorted for you." The Commander gave a soft, almost fatherly smile. He turned to Ruby next, and she tensed up beside Blake. "And what about you, Miss Rose?"

"Call me Ruby. And there is something I can help out with, actually." Ruby approached the bars of the cell and took a seat. "When I was first put in here, the MPs took my sweetheart Crescent Rose away along with Blake's weapon. See, I created that weapon myself, under the instruction of my Uncle Qrow, who took me under his wing when I was little and taught me how to use a scythe. I've always had a fascination with weaponry, or really any sort of machinery that can be used for an arsenal. If given the opportunity, I'm sure my knowledge and creativity could improve the quality of the cannons. Or, or, with the Dust that Weiss found, I'm sure I could come up with some upgrades to the swords for your ODM Gear, and use some of it to increase the damage inflicted from the cannons, or even—"

"Calm down," Captain Levi told her, though not as stern as Eren expected, "you're getting ahead of yourself a bit there. One project at a time."

Ruby scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "Right, sorry. I tend to go overboard when I think of ideas involving weapons."

"Um, by the way, sir," Eren called out, tilting his head a bit. "Where are we?" Eren took a moment to spare glances at Ruby, whose eyes were now fixed on him, that is until she turned back towards Commander Erwin. The Commander's expression had gone back to being as stoic as it almost always was.

"I think its obvious. Let's just call it a dungeon." Commander Erwin dully answered; straight to the point, as expected. Ruby nodded, and then cocked her head to the side. When the Commander saw her reaction, he added: "You're all currently in the custody of the Military Police. We were granted permission to see you only just now."

Eren took the time to inspect the chains that were bound to his wrists and ankles. He even noticed that Ruby and Blake had their wrists and ankles bound with chains, which were attached to pulling machines. They basically let anyone bound in them roam free around their cell, but the shackles were tightened and pulled the person back if the guards thought they were trying to escape their captivity. He'd heard rumours of previous prisoners having their wrists or ankles dislocated or broken or fractured by the force of the shackles when they pulled them back.

However, Eren's thoughts of the horrors of being imprisoned were cut short when Commander Erwin then held up the key that had once hung around Eren's neck before he'd woken up in this cell, in this dungeon.

"Where'd you get that?" Eren hastily asked. If he was taken into custody by the Military Police, how did the Commander of the Scouts manage to gain possession of his key, when the MPs probably would have taken it themselves when they took Eren in?"

"Off of you. Don't worry; you'll get it back." the Commander told him, his eyes meeting Eren's as Eren himself inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's talk home. Specifically, the good Doctor's cellar back in Shiganshina. Pretty big secret in there, right? About the Titans?"

"Yeah. I think so." Eren replied, nodding his head at the Commander. "That's what Dad said, anyway."

"Must suck having your dad and your memory M.I.A at the same time. Unless, of course, that's just a cover story." Captain Levi stated, his earlier softened demeanour he'd shown towards Ruby gone and now back with the glares and curt, blunt attitude. The sudden change made Eren tense, and he knew, he just _knew_ that the Captain could sense it.

"Enough. We've been over this already; we know he has no reason to lie." Commander Erwin turning his head towards the Captain. His gaze returned to Eren as he continued on: "And that's _all_ we know. How about you shed a little light on us by telling us your intentions?" he inquired, leaning forward in his chair.

"My... my what...? What do you mean...?" Eren asked in response, dumbfounded as to why the Commander would ask such a question. Sure, Eren knew he could transform into a Titan, and that alone would cause some issues within the military; but after he sealed the breach in Trost, Eren thought he would be considered an ally to humans and a beacon of hope for humanity. Not the enemy of mankind. He helped them in reclaiming Trost and made that day the day of humanity's first true victory against the Titans.

Shouldn't he be some sort of hero?

And if that was the case, then why was he being treated like a villain? Was it because he could transform into a _Titan_ , of all things?

In fact, now that he thought about it, the military did have issues with trust.

"Here's the lay of the land, my friend. If we wanna pay your Dad's cellar a visit, we have to venture back into Shiganshina. Sealing the breach there as we did in Trost would be the smart way to go about it, don't you think? Naturally, we'll need your special powers." Commander Erwin glanced at Ruby and Blake for a moment, causing Ruby to turn her head towards Blake and raise a brow, while Blake remained where she was, still stood there silently and looking at the ground. The Commander's eyes met Eren's once again. "Either way you slice it, a Titan's deciding our fate. It's been conjectured that the Colossal and the Armoured Titan are more or less the same as you. It's why I ask your intentions. They could be the key to turning the tide forever. You could save us."

Erwin held up the key to the cellar, emphasizing his point.

Eren could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he thought of what to say. More than anything, he wanted to be a beacon of hope for humanity. But how would he go about that? He didn't have the slightest clue of what exactly he was, nor what was going to happen to him now that he discovered he'd had this power to transform into a Titan within him.

So... what _would_ he say to the Scouts? What _would_ he say to... well, anyone?

What could he say to them?

"I... I don't know what I am..." Eren muttered, lowering his head to spare a moment to think. His vision flashed with images of his father holding the key in front of him. Then, a flashback of his mother being picked up and eaten right in front of him. And after that, another flashback, this time of his father injecting a needle into him.

Confusion arose in his gut when he thought about that last flashback. He didn't remember that happening. When had that happened?

"Come on. It's an easy question, so answer it. What the hell is it you want to do?" Captain Levi cut in, the pressure on Eren's shoulders increasing as it snapped him out of his previous train of thought.

Still, though – _now_ he had an idea of what he wanted to do.

Eren's body started to twitch, and his breathing became erratic. He lifted his head to reveal a terrifying grin and eyes that held an intimidating and probably psychotic glint of excitement.

"I wanna become a member of the Scouts, and slaughter every Titan that crosses my path."

Eren could see the Captain's eyes gain a spark in them. To see that from the Captain honestly surprised him, to say the least.

"Huh. Well played." Captain Levi remarked, finally pushing himself from the wall he was leaning on. "Alright then. I'll take responsibility for him. Let the higher-ups know what's going on. Not that I implicitly trust him, of course. It's more a matter of me trusting myself to deal with him; kill him if I have to. The big wigs aren't likely to raise a stake. My record more than speaks for itself, I'm pretty sure." he said, gripping the metal bars of the cell.

Eren tensed up at his words, his shoulders hunching as his previous expression was replaced with one full of fear and worry. Ruby stared at Captain Levi, her eyes wide and curious. Blake folded her arms under her chest.

"Good news, Jaeger. You're now officially a member of the Scouts."

* * *

 **Weiss Schnee**

* * *

It had been two days since the Trost gate was sealed, thanks to Eren's efforts to move the boulder into place. Weiss had no idea what exactly had gone down, but apparently Commander Pixis had sacrificed another hundred – or thousand – soldiers to ensure that Eren and Yang sealed the breached gate to the Trost District with a giant boulder that was sat in a ditch near the gate. The Garrison Regiment and the Scouts that had come back from their recent expedition outside the walls had spent the last day cleaning the District of the remaining Titans. It was the first victory for humanity, the first piece of land reclaimed from the Titans, and more than enough of the population hoped that it would be the first of many victories to come.

However, that was only the good news. The bad news was that there had been a few complications during the operation. The gist of it was that Eren suddenly turned hostile and reportedly tried to attack Mikasa, and Ruby had ended up in the middle of it. It was unintentional harm done to Ruby, of course – according to Mikasa, Ruby had tried to protect her from Eren's brief rampage, but ended up getting hurt in the process and was left temporarily vulnerable when Eren had decided to nest Ruby under his tongue. Mikasa and Armin both had their own theories about why Eren would do such a thing.

Tomorrow, Eren was supposedly due for a court hearing about whether he should be handed over to the Scout Regiment or the Military Police.

Moreover, now the fight against the Titans was over – for now, at least – the Military Police was fully able to seize its authority over the population within the walls, and they wanted information that they thought Team RWBY had, as well as the majority of Dust that Weiss had gone through the trouble of securing a deal over.

Greedy pigs.

"I had no idea the situation could get this bad over only two days." Weiss remarked, taking a sip of water from the glass in front of her.

Weiss herself was sat in a dimly lit room with a sickly Yang wrapped in a thick blanket, Armin, Jean, and Mikasa. Ruby, Blake, and Eren were in the custody of the MPs. Weiss knew why the MPs wanted Eren, but why they took Ruby and Blake along with him was anyone's call. She had a couple of theories, but none amounted to a satisfying answer. However, there was rumour among the Scout and the Garrison Regiments that Blake was hiding something under her bow. Needless to say, it made Weiss anxious to think that someone knew about Blake's Faunus heritage. And how did that person even know? She hadn't taken her bow off at all since they'd ended up here. Perhaps more people than she'd anticipated had seen Blake's bow twitch?

And what about Ruby? Was it because she carried a scythe? Was it because Ruby used one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?

Weiss shook her head, trying to think of the positive aspect of the situation.

There was something good that came out of the two days of relative peace and quiet. Weiss was able to start planning the set-up of a Dust storage unit in the Scout Regiment Headquarters, and was able to find some new clothes for herself in the meantime, since her usual fancy attire needed a wash. She wore a white button-up shirt, a pair of white shorts, a pair of white stockings, a shiny pair of silver leather boots, some beautifully silky silver fingerless gloves that stopped only midway up her forearm, and a grey belt. She was also allowed to keep some grey straps and blade boxes, for future needs.

"I don't think anyone could have predicted it. We knew the MPs would come back into action sooner or later, but we didn't think they would do anything like this." Armin revelled. He seemed like he was trying to make eye contact, but was too afraid to do so.

For the past two days, Armin was rather secretive, as if he had something on his mind. It was a surprise to Weiss, because usually Armin's head looked like it was spinning out of control on the inside. Moreover, it was beginning to get suspicious. No one was telling her what was causing Armin to act like he was, and Weiss became determined to find out what was up with him. The matter of the Military Police could probably wait for her. What the MPs wanted to do with them wasn't as much of a problem as the heiress being unaware of what was making the blond intellectual practically put an invisible wall up between them.

"It's obvious to me that all they want is a piece of the pie. After the situation in Trost was resolved, they most likely saw it as an opportunity to seize their disgusting authority over the population again." Weiss stated with a grimace. As she took another sip of her water, she glanced at Armin, who shifted slightly in his seat every time Weiss' eyes met his.

"And us." Yang added, only coughing once.

"Throat still burning?" Weiss turned to her teammate.

"A little bit. I think it was because I threw up so much, and it hurt my throat. The screaming didn't help, either." Yang nodded, grabbing her cup of milk and taking a swig.

"Why do you think they took Ruby and Blake?" Jean inquired, leaning on the table.

That was another thing. Apparently, Marco, who'd been a good friend of Jean's, was found half-eaten in one of the streets of Trost this morning. The fact that he was dead scarred Jean, but Weiss had been shocked when he told her the state of his corpse. After all, who wouldn't be traumatised seeing one of their friends dead on the ground, with only half of their body and face remaining? And what's worse, no one recalled seeing Marco die. The unanswered questions only added to the pain of the loss.

"We've been through many different theories about that, but something in my gut is telling me it has to do with those rumours we heard about." Yang answered. Everyone was silent as she gulped down the milk in her cup. "The ones about Blake." she reminded them.

"Oh, you mean how people keep saying that Blake is hiding something under her bow?" Armin responded with a tilt of his head. His input sparked the others to look incredulously between Yang and Weiss.

"Where do you think someone would come up with something like that?" Weiss questioned as she turned to Mikasa and Jean for assistance.

"I think a lot of us saw the bow on her head twitch occasionally." Mikasa admitted, tilting her head. "I think I heard someone say that she was probably hiding a mutation or another pair of ears under the ribbon."

"If you know anything about it, you can tell us, you know." Armin suggested upon seeing the knowing look Yang and Weiss passed each other. "Blake's a kind person, and she's saved a lot of us, including Mikasa and Jean. It's only right we have her back in return, even if it's off the battlefield."

Yang sighed and placed her cup down, before glancing between Mikasa, Armin, and Jean. "Promise us you won't freak out. Blake should be telling you this herself, but it was probably bound to come out eventually. So just in case, I need to know you won't think differently of her."

"We promise." Mikasa nodded her head, and Armin and Jean followed suit. "You can tell us."

"Blake... isn't classed as human." Yang looked down.

"What do you mean? Is there some type of species on your world where people can look like humans but aren't?" Armin cocked his head. The boy had one fantastic imagination, Weiss had to give him credit.

"I guess you could say that." Weiss shrugged her shoulders. "In Remnant, there are people that look human but have the characteristics and traits of animals. These people are called Faunus. Blake is one of them. Usually, characteristics include cat ears, monkey tails, and bunny ears, and there are more. Under Blake's bow are cat ears."

"So, is she self-conscious about her cat ears, or...?"

"Kind of. You see, Faunus are almost always constantly being harassed by the Humans. They're subject to bullying and discrimination and hate. A friend of ours, Velvet, who's a Faunus with bunny ears, used to be bullied at our school. Most lunchtimes we'd see the leader of another team we won't name pulling on her ears while his teammates called her a freak and other names along those lines. Blake conceals her Faunus identity because she would rather not suffer what many other Faunus, including herself, have. She'd rather live without the harassment and hate." Yang took a gulp of milk from her cup.

"Well, that and she wants to be seen more for who she is and not what she is, in her words." Weiss drank the last bit of water from her glass and sighed, putting her head on the table. She paused for a moment, briefly savouring the chance she had to collect her thoughts, until she turned to Yang. "Did you get any sleep since Trost?"

"Barely. I've been taking naps during the day, but I can't sleep at night. Being alone just gives me more chance to dwell on the experience." Yang told her with half-lidded eyes. Weiss blinked and her eyes widened when she noticed the formation of bags under Yang's eyes.

"I suppose even you're still suffering from the brutality of the attack." Armin remarked as he turned his head toward Weiss, a clear trace of cautiousness and concern laced in his tone. "You and Blake were the only ones who didn't seem to be as shaken as some of the cadets, and even Yang and Ruby to an extent. I was wondering how you managed to continue to get up and get on with what you wanted to do without being hindered."

Weiss lifted the side of her head from the table and her eyes met Armin's. Her eyebrows slanted. "To be honest, early in my life I just came to learn that death and tragedy were a part of life, regardless of the reason and the way it happened, and you just had to deal with it in your own way. The only thing that even remotely shook me up was the brutality of the cadets – some no older than either of the four of us – getting eaten." Weiss shrugged and planted her elbows on the table, folding her arms and letting her hands settle on her upper arms. "It's actually kind of surprising, considering a lot of the creatures of Grimm are known to eat people too."

"O-Oh, that's right," Yang stuttered and delved into another coughing fit, prompting Weiss to rub her back gently. Yang looked between Mikasa, Armin, and Jean. "I went to visit Blake and Ruby yesterday while most of the MPs were out for lunch aside from the guards in the dungeon. She'd had a few ideas about us legitimately teaching you guys and giving you classes on our world of Remnant and its history, since most of you are bound to be curious about the world we come from."

"I think that's a great idea. Knowing more about your world might also help us to learn more about your fighting styles, and how to use the Dust you discovered. I only hope the higher-ups also realise that taking classes would assist in developing our skills as soldiers. If they know it could help us defeat more Titans and better our chances of survival out there, they'd have to be crazy or paranoid to deny the idea." Armin nodded his head, finally braving a sweet small smile.

Weiss tilted her head. Now was her chance to find out what was up with him! "Is that all you'd like to say?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Weiss got up from her seat, walked around the table, and latched onto Armin's arm with her hand. The corners of her lips curled up into a flat but sublime smile. "I was wondering if you had any ideas for specifically what we could use the Dust for first, strategically speaking. Besides, we've barely talked since the retaking of the Trost District. I'm sure we have a few things to catch up on too."

Out of her peripheral view, Weiss noticed Yang narrow her eyes, as if to say, _"what are you up to?"_.

"O-Oh... uh..." Armin averted his eyes for a split second. "...Sure."

With only a happy nod to show her response, Weiss softly pulled Armin up from his chair, and led him out of the room. The door slammed shut before Weiss stopped only a few feet away from it. Once she came to a halt, she released Armin's arm from her grasp and twirled around to face him.

"Alright. Armin, I'm gonna need you to be completely honest with me now."

"Huh? O-Okay." Armin nodded, although he sounded a bit uncertain. "What do you want to know?"

"Is everything alright?" Weiss responded with a question of her own.

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell you've... not been as open with me about certain things lately. Specifically, from when I got back from the mines just after the hole in the Trost gate was sealed." Weiss pointed out. Armin's shoulders flinched for a second, so fast that Weiss had to question whether or not she'd really seen it happen. But, nevertheless, she continued: "It just makes me wonder if something happened during the operation that I should know about. Believe it or not, I worry too."

Armin stared at Weiss for around a second or two, until he nervously nodded his head and took a nervous gulp. "Well, I was debating on whether or not to tell anyone, but since _you_ _'re_ asking... I guess it would be okay." Armin paused for a moment. He deeply inhaled and exhaled, before looking straight into Weiss' eyes. "It's not about the operation to reclaim Trost, in fact. In all honesty, I've been considering this since I overheard Yang telling Reiner, Connie, and Annie that you and your teammates could teach us how you four fight. I was hoping that, since I'm not particularly strong enough or have any defining abilities that might allow me to help others or help myself or assist in killing Titans, you could train me specifically."

The corners of Weiss' mouth twitched, and she had to use every last bit of her self-control to not laugh out loud. "That's all it was? You had me worried there." Weiss stated, letting a few giggles slip. She patted Armin's shoulder, and he began getting shy, hunching his shoulders as if he thought he had said something wrong. "Armin," Weiss gave him a reassuring smile, "I understand where you're coming from. Believe me, I do. You feel useless on your own, don't you?"

"Admittedly, too much." Armin's gaze fell to the ground. "If I don't try to improve my skills for when I'm out there, then what good will I be to the others aside from simply being the strategist?"

"You make a good point. You came up with brilliant ideas in Trost, ideas that worked spectacularly well too; but if you can't save yourself especially when no one else is there to save you, we'll be out of those linchpin strategies and life-saving ideas." Weiss considered the possibility, tapping her chin with her index finger, looking up at the ceiling. She did not want to entertain the idea of having to come up with damned plans in the case of Armin's death, and it was only a second, but she shook her head to rid herself of the thought immediately after a shiver travelled down her spine and littered her skin with goosebumps. "Alright, I'll take you on as my protégé and teach you what I know. Of course, that would be limited depending on what your Semblance is, but if you're aiming to specialise in Dust anyway, you've come to the right place nonetheless."

"Really?" Armin's jaw hung open, though Weiss could clearly see the edges of his mouth turned upwards, a sign that he was happy. She didn't remember there being an open window in the building, though, so it was a bit of a surprise when his coconut-shaped hair fluttered with the breeze that swept into the room. Or maybe that was from his small hop in place. "When do we start?"

Weiss took a moment to ponder the question, cupping her chin between her thumb and index fingers, wondering when an appropriate time to train Armin would be.

"Why not today?"

Weiss gasped and swivelled as fast as possible, her eyes meeting someone's chest. She raised her head and was met with the same blue eyes as Armin's, accompanied with a set of eyebrows that were tall in height but shorter than average in length.

"Commander Erwin!" Armin straightened his back and performed the military salute, clenching his fist and holding it over his heart whilst he held his arm behind his back.

Weiss blinked and stepped back a bit. She was too close to the man. Just as she did, she noticed a shorter man with his hands folded over his chest, his eyes with colourless bags under them, but from the looks of his eyes, he lacked a healthy sleep schedule, and she found it likely he suffered from insomnia. His hair was black and he sported an undercut, and he wasn't any taller than Weiss: it seemed they were the same height, actually.

"I assume you're the Scout Regiment?" Weiss looked back up at the tall blond man, noting a pendant with a green circle in the centre of a golden ring hanging around his neck and settling on his chest.

"You assume?" asked the smaller man, prompting Weiss to lower her head and match his glare with a level one of her own.

"Over the past two days I've been busy in that old castle that was formerly the Scout Regiment Headquarters, setting up the place for my teammates and I to stay, so forgive me if the only badge I recognise are the roses of the Garrison Regiment." Weiss crossed over her own arms and shot him a deadpan expression whilst raising a brow. If he wanted to challenge her to a battle of who could intimidate the other first, he was going to have to try harder than he was. "Take it as an educated guess if it'll help you sleep at night; _for once_."

He bit the inside of his lip and scoffed, both eyebrows raising for a second as he stopped glaring. "Well, aren't you observant."

"Now, now, Levi. This is Ruby's team partner, Weiss Schnee. She's the one who found the Dust and secured a deal with the mine to supply us with it. You might want to be nice, it's the least she deserves for her efforts." the blond man, Erwin, told him as he turned to the shorter man. So, the man her height was called Levi. She was glad she didn't need a formal introduction. Erwin turned back to Weiss. "We overheard your conversation with cadet Arlert. I was in fact coming to see you myself after Ruby and Blake told us you were essentially an expert on Dust."

"An expert? How humble." Weiss waved her hand dismissively. "If you must know, I'm the heiress of a company that my grandfather started, which revolves around the manufacturing and distribution of Dust. It's a requirement of the family to be well-versed in business deals and the knowledge, use, and properties of Dust itself." She lowered her hand and lifted her head, her eyes boring into Erwin's. "I assume you want to get a headstart and learn about Dust from the best source of knowledge you have?"

"Was it that easy?" Erwin gave a slight smile.

"Too easy." Weiss narrowed her eyes at the Commander. She turned her head and her eyes landed on Levi. "What about you?"

"It's just Erwin. Until Eren's trial tomorrow, I'm going to pick up Ruby and Blake from the MPs. You said you and your team were staying in the old HQ?" Levi unfolded his arms.

"I didn't clean out and rearrange some of the offices on the ground floor for nothing."

"Oh, so you've cleaned the place up a bit? I'll be sure to check that it's spotless when I get there."

* * *

"Before I start you both off, I'm going to ensure that you learn the basics of Dust, at least before Eren's trial. And to learn the basics, you'll need these."

Weiss reached into her leather satchel and pulled out two _'Dust for Dummies'_ leaflet. Carrying one in each hand, she planted one down in front of Armin and the other in front of Erwin. They both picked up the leaflets and placed inspected the front cover.

"Those are made specifically by the SDC to explain Dust in a simplified manner for beginners. Essentially, it's mostly used to advertise Dust to families with children who have an interest in Dust usage, for whatever purposes – mostly for training to fight the Grimm and creating specialised weaponry such as my own weapon, as well as ammunition, say, for Ruby's and Yang's weapons. There are also Dust cartridges that can be inserted into weapons like Blake's to be used in coordination with the Semblance of the owner of the weapon. If given the chance to initiate classes, Blake can explain that function of Dust better, since she actually uses the cartridges." Weiss explained, leaning the back of her hip against the desk, her legs crossed and arms folded over her chest. "I would think you both have great memories and would be able to memorise certain things particularly fast and with relative ease. With that said, read over it enough times to the point where when I start asking you the relevant questions to quiz you, you won't have to look back on what you've read, since you should have it—" Weiss tapped her temple with her index finger—"all in here."

* * *

 **Eren Jaeger**

* * *

"Blake's sleeping for now. Guess she must have been tired of not being able to see anything." Ruby carried Blake in her arms and laid her on the bed, her head on the pillow. Eren sat with his legs crossed on the bed, watching Ruby pull the bed covers up to Blake's shoulders.

"Ruby," Eren's eyes followed Ruby as she sat back down directly beside the bed, "when did you learn that Blake was a Faunus?"

Ruby lifted her head, meeting his gaze. "During our first semester at Beacon Academy. We had been going around the streets of Vale with Weiss going on about how exciting the upcoming Vytal Festival was going to be. We were at the docks because Weiss wanted to get a look at the people arriving for the tournament in order to have an advantage. Our new friend, Sun, who's an actual monkey-type Faunus, ran off the boat and Weiss came up with the idea to chase after him. We were stopped when Weiss happened to collide with our—uh, _my_ friend Penny, and proceeded to call Sun names like 'rapscallion' and 'degenerate', and Blake got mad and she and Weiss ended up in this big argument."

"I hope it didn't get violent." Eren's eyebrows raised.

"Oh, no, no! I wouldn't have let that happen if it were going to. But it got pretty intense though."

"How so?"

"It really started when Blake said that it was because of people like Weiss that the White Fang, now essentially a Faunus terrorist group, took the drastic actions they did. When Blake called her discriminatory, Weiss called herself a victim, and started talking about how her childhood was hard because the White Fang targeted her family and their company. Then when Weiss called the Faunus a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers, Blake snapped and said something like 'we were tired of being pushed around', and then ran away after realising what she'd said."

"So it was her outburst."

"Yeah, but I don't think either me or Yang thought about it much until Penny caught up with us the next day when we went out to look for Blake, since she hadn't come back by the time I woke up. When we asked if she'd seen Blake, she called Blake the 'Faunus girl', and when we asked how she knew Blake was a Faunus, and she just said 'the cat ears', and I think that was the moment Yang and I realised that Blake had been hiding the cat ears under her bow the whole time."

He wanted to know how this ended, since from what he'd seen, Weiss and Blake currently had a good and friendly bond between them. So it seemed likely that they'd made up, but as always, his curiosity never ceased, and he wanted to know how. "What happened next?"

"Well, Yang and Weiss left me to search for Blake with Penny, and by the time we found her fighting the White Fang at the docks, we'd been searching for twelve hours. Penny helped us out with handling the White Fang. Weiss and Yang caught back up with me, Blake, Sun, and Penny and at first I thought Weiss was going to be mad at Blake so I tried to talk to her but she walked right past me, and when Blake tried to explain herself, Weiss told her that she no longer cared that Blake was a Faunus and told Blake that she didn't want her to say anything about her departure from the White Fang, essentially saying it didn't matter since Blake wasn't one of them anymore. Weiss ended up making Blake promise to confide in us next time, instead of someone else, like Sun."

"Do you think Blake would explain her affiliation with this White Fang group when the higher-ups agree to have you guys teach us in classes and give us lectures?" Eren asked with a light-hearted smile.

"That depends. I think if she knew everyone in the room was understanding enough to listen to her story, I think she might. And I also think she would probably do it if a lot of people asked for her story because they want to know what she's been through." Ruby shrugged her shoulders as she returned the smile.

"It's nice to see you lot again."

Eren jumped when he heard the voice of Captain Levi from outside the cell, and he felt himself shrink into his shirt when he saw the man at the door of the cell. Eren didn't think it would be for him, since his trial was in the morning. Or was it already the morning of his trial? Honestly, the lack of windows and therefore the ability to know what day and time it was made him frustrated and tired.

"Ruby, I'm here to pick you and Blake up. Weiss has been setting up your residency in the old castle formerly used as the Survey Corps Headquarters, which has been abandoned for quite a while. I'm taking you and Blake to where Weiss is staying."

Ruby jumped to her feet and lifted Blake out of the bed, carrying the Faunus in both of her arms. She pulled Blake close to her as she turned to the Captain. "What about Eren? We're going to see him again after his trial, right?"

"I can't promise he won't leave the courtroom unscathed, but I personally guarantee he'll be alive and well when we see you next."


	11. Chapter 11 – Late Arrival and a Trial

**{1.}** **In the RWBY manga {and yes, there is a RWBY manga, if you haven't heard}, it is shown that Ruby has a fear of large crowds for a period of time. Specifically, it's shown in the chapter where she is in a sparring match against Cardin Winchester and lots of people are watching them. In fact, I'm fairly certain she almost has a panic attack because of it. Anyway, I think it's safe to say that Ruby may have some degree of social anxiety, and so, for the purpose of accuracy, she will show signs of it in this story.**

 **{2.} In this chapter there will be dialogue not only through speaking, but through writing letters on the backs of hands, specifically with Ruby and Weiss. I'm sorry if there is anyone reading this that has problems reading it, but I wanted to include a silent and a bit sneaky way of communication, which was inspired by a book I read almost a year ago called Lady Midnight, where two of the characters (I can't remember the characters' names, forgive me) write on each other's skin as a special and just-between-them way of speaking.**

* * *

 **Pyrrha Nikos**

* * *

Once the sun began to set, they made their move on Torchwick and the White Fang.

Dusk was an opportune time of day for the attack, agreed by all members of Team JNPR for them to carry out their – or rather, Professor Ozpin's – plan. It wouldn't be too dark for the group to see, nor would it be too bright for them to be spotted easily.

Team JNPR had used the previous day to pack large backpacks with essentials that Team RWBY would need, as well as everything they would want from their dorm. Inside each backpack were many of the cylindrical packages used to send almost anything in the mail, which had really came in handy when Pyrrha and her team thoroughly scavenged through Team RWBY's dorm room and packed almost everything aside from the carpet, the posters, the beds (Yang and Blake's bunk beds had had to be taken down because it was decided that they would pack all of Blake's books into a large chest, somehow also stored in one of the packages inside the bag Ren was carrying), the curtains, and the now empty shelf under the window. It also didn't help any of them when Glynda had packed who knows how many books – mostly textbooks and workbooks and basically everything the four girls needed for studying for all of their lessons – into another set of boxes for each member of Team RWBY, as well as Team JNPR just in case, and had stuffed each personalised study box into a few mailing packages that they carried in the backpacks.

It had been Jaune whom had advised that Team JNPR should take most of their own belongings too, as they could very well need supplies as well. They were thankful that they had the mail packages as they needed all they could get into the backpacks. It was also a good thing that there were so many of the mailing packages around, and that there was an almost endless supply of them. Pyrrha was never going to take the packages for granted again.

It's not as if they were planning on using the devices to find Team RWBY, but if history repeated itself and one, two, three, or all of Team JNPR ended up in the same place as Team RWBY – and, by extension, the villagers that had disappeared much earlier – then they would want to have supplies to give to them. After all, the four huntresses-in-training could be suffering from a shortage of fresh clothes, ammunition, Dust, or, in the words of Glynda and Professor—sorry, _Doctor_ Oobleck, "a withdrawal from studying and anything else that kept their ties to Remnant.

Glynda had wanted to oversee the mission to get back the stolen devices, but Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood had both agreed that Glynda was needed at the school, and should another mishap happen again, they would rather someone like her _didn't_ go missing. It was by Professor Ozpin's judgement that they had sent a professional huntsman with them, but General Ironwood also wanted to send backup, which had come in the form of a woman. Well, they had needed at least one adult on the scene with them. The huntsman's name was Qrow Branwen. According to Professor Ozpin, Qrow was Ruby and Yang's uncle, and also the one who had taught Ruby how to handle and build her scythe. The woman that General Ironwood sent was the eldest of the Schnee children. In other words, Weiss' older sister. Her name was Winter Schnee, and she was a specialist, in the Atlesian Military's Specialist Operatives unit.

Pyrrha and Jaune ducked behind one of the Dust crates in the dock. Ren and Nora hid behind another one. Qrow and Winter were keeping watch from above, hiding in the shadows of separate rooftops, not that Pyrrha could blame either of them. They didn't necessarily get along, despite their relatives being the closest of friends and teammates.

The docks were a very popular place for Torchwick and the White Fang to land. Then again, it was filled with cargo containers, which were filled with Dust from the Schnee Dust Company. As Pyrrha stealthily peeked around the side of the crate she and Jaune were hiding behind, she saw that two White Fang members were approaching the ramp of a Bullhead that was stationed there. Just what exactly were they stealing? More Dust? Didn't they have enough already? Why did they need _more_?

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Jaune's hushed voice reached her ears. Pyrrha caught a glimpse of her team partner from the corner of her eye. "Do you see that box they're carrying?"

Pyrrha turned her head in Jaune's direction, and then back at the two White Fang lackeys. Narrowing her eyes and focusing solely on what they were carrying to the airship, she found that they were indeed carrying a box, and one with a very simple design, surprisingly.

The box itself had a similar appearance to the ones that carried the Dust containers he often used when he stole powdered Dust from the stores he robbed. It was all black around the outside, but Pyrrha could just make out faint traces of veins engraved onto it. The veins didn't appear to have any noticeable powdered Dust inside them, though, so Pyrrha had to wonder if that was just part of the box's design.

However, before Pyrrha could even think about going in to get a closer look at the box, she just barely managed to notice Qrow and Winter racing across the rooftops, towards the Bullhead. All four members of Team JNPR set off as soon as Winter and Qrow had landed on the top of the Bullhead, causing the aircraft to slowly rock from side to side, digging up the pavement of the docks since it was still stood idly on the ground. The noise this produced from the Bullhead was enough to alert the White Fang members, including ones she hadn't even noticed before, and ones that had likely been expecting a counter-attack from those sent by Beacon.

A group of three White Fang members charged at Pyrrha, their guns and swords drawn. Pyrrha ducked and skidded across the gravel, planting one hand on the ground and swinging her leg parallel to the ground, swiping all three of them off of their feet. With them on the ground, Pyrrha moved on towards the other two that were carrying the box.

They quickly dropped the box on the ground, ever so slightly catching Pyrrha off-guard briefly as she wondered if whatever was inside it had been damaged in the least. They used the brief moment to charge towards her, in the same manner that the other three did, but as soon as Pyrrha got into a defensive stance, with her weapon and shield drawn, Jaune had rammed his shield into one of the guys, sending him flying back a few yards.

The one that was left swung his sword down on Pyrrha, unaware of his friend's absence. Pyrrha raised her shield to stop the attack and counterattacked with her weapon in its javelin form. She swung at him in an upwards angle, sending him flailing as his Aura gave in and he collapsed backwards onto the floor. Pyrrha immediately turned to Jaune afterward.

"I'll go see what's in the box!" Pyrrha told him, already jogging towards it.

"We'll cover you! Be careful!" Jaune responded, spinning on his heel as he followed closely behind Pyrrha, his shield and sword raised in a defensive stance.

As soon as Pyrrha approached the box, she crouched and lowered herself into a half-kneeling position, with one knee on the ground and her other leg bent at the knee with her boots secured on the ground. She hesitantly reached to open the lid. She narrowly lifted it open and peered inside it, only to find one of the devices in there. It was the same one that had caused Team RWBY to go missing. The cube device, decorated with white Dust veins that stored a handful of powdered Dust, collected together inside of it. All of the faces of the cube had a small circular Dust crystal engraved on them, all different types and colours. The cube itself was black in colour, making the décor on it stand out like a rainbow appearing with dark clouds.

"Looking for something?"

The cool voice, that no doubt belonged to Roman Torchwick, startled Pyrrha to a healthy degree. Pyrrha instinctively closed the box just as she raised her head, seeing the man in front of her. One of his hands was covered with something, but Pyrrha couldn't see what it was. Though, she could tell that he was holding something in it.

"How about a game of catch?" he asked mockingly, tilting his head and holding his chin up, staring down his nose at her.

Pyrrha had barely stood back up when Torchwick's hand came into view, revealing itself to be encased in a metal glove. He tossed something out of it, and from one glance, Pyrrha knew it was the other object. The spherical device. She didn't have the time to get a good look at it, because it was quickly falling to the ground, courtesy of Torchwick having thrown it at a low angle.

The redhead gasped and, without thinking of the consequences, dived towards the object. She narrowly caught it in her gloved hands, landing on her stomach in the process. Her weapon and shield and her and Ruby's backpacks were still on her back, which she was thankful for, as the object had activated with coming into contact with her Aura. She had about a couple of seconds before she—

"Guys! Throw me Team RWBY's belongings! Now!" Pyrrha called out to her teammates. Immediately, Weiss', Blake's, and Yang's backpacks hit her back. But only seconds later, she was engulfed in a bright white light, which had undoubtedly come from the device. The device itself was no longer in her hands, but she could still feel Team RWBY's belongings on top of her as she floated in nothingness for a second, before a flash of green and grey broke into the white light and she found herself falling onto hard concrete, her Aura absorbing the impact.

With her own backpack on her back along with Ruby's, she had forgotten how much was in the backpacks for the other three girls, and she paid for her forgetfulness when all three of Weiss', Blake's, and Yang's backs landed on the back of her head and caused her head to smack against the ground.

Pushing Yang's backpack off the back of her head after Weiss' and Blake's had fallen off themselves, Pyrrha planted her hands on the ground and lifted herself up, perching her rear on the cold concrete and sitting upright, trying to make sense and get her bearings first.

"Where... am I?" Pyrrha asked herself, scratching the back of her neck. Her head swivelled in most directions, and she even twisted her body to look behind her, but she didn't find anyone in sight. From the looks of things, it seemed to be dusk here as well, and she had to question whether or not she was still in Remnant. But when, in her peripheral view, she found she had landed beside what looked to be an old, run-down castle that looked like it had been abandoned, did she realise she probably wasn't. This didn't match any architectural structure she knew of in Remnant.

* * *

 **Roman Torchwick**

* * *

Roman laughed, like usual villains did, after Pyrrha had disappeared. As soon as the white light had dissipated into the wind, only the device she'd foolishly reached out to catch was left, dropping the rest of the short distance to the ground. With his trusted cane in hand, and the larger metal glove on his other hand, he proceed to step out of the Bullhead that one of his White Fang lackeys was piloting.

"Pardon the interruption, but I'll be taking this back." he mocked the other three remaining members of Pyrrha's team, sauntering over to the box that the other two lackeys had carelessly dropped when the Invincible Girl appeared. He was lucky the cube device still inside the box hadn't been damaged and malfunctioned.

The huntsman, Qrow Branwen, and Winter Schnee, the Schnee family's firstborn, both landed in front of him. They both had their weapons aimed at him, the tip of their blades equally as unnerving as the glares they were giving him.

Roman was thankful he had Neo, who would come to his aid whenever he needed. Dealing with huntsmen and huntresses was above his paygrade, but it was guaranteed that Neo could handle them to the best of her ability, at the very least. As could Cinder, but she had an identity to keep under wraps. If she, Emerald, or Mercury were found out, it would mean goodbye to their little operation, and to be honest, he _really_ couldn't afford to lose.

"I don't see why you're protecting that artefact," Roman held up the hand wearing the metal glove, "since you're never going to be able to touch it without this." His Aura wasn't attached to the metal glove, hence why it didn't transport him elsewhere upon his touch. They didn't have it, so he had the advantage.

"I think you'll find that we don't have to use that." Qrow remarked, causing the corner of Roman's mouth to twitch in anger. He did _not_ like someone making a fool out of him.

Winter stepped towards the box and lifted the lid off.

Yep, they were going to make a fool out of him.

With the lid, Winter scooped up the spherical device, and carefully tipped it into the container with the cubed artefact. All the while, Qrow had the tip of his blade held to Torchwick's throat. As soon as Winter put the lid back on the box, she proceeded to pick it up by the handles on the side, only to have it crumble into glass as soon as she touched it.

Roman could only smirk when, in his peripheral view, he saw Neo standing behind him, holding the container in her hands. But his smirk faded when his Aura had suddenly been damaged and he flew backward a couple of feet, his cane flying out of his hand and his hat falling off his head. He lifted his head up in just enough time to see Neo being kicked in the abdomen by the Schnee and thrown to the ground in ruthless anger.

During Neo's fall, Winter had snatched the box with both devices in it and dashed away from the petite lady before she could recover fast enough.

Qrow followed on after Winter, waving his arms to the remaining members of Pyrrha's team.

"We retrieved them! Go!"

* * *

 **Pyrrha Nikos**

* * *

Pyrrha hadn't encountered a single person on her way to the nearest village. Wading through a woodland area as she carried all of Team RWBY's backpacks along with her own, Pyrrha desperately hoped all of this would reward her with seeing her friends in this place, wherever this place was.

When she left the woodland area, the first thing she noticed was one of the tallest concrete walls she'd seen in her life, and hope shone in her green irises when she found an open gate leading through the wall. Gripping the straps of the backpacks tighter, Pyrrha broke into a sprint with a smile on her face.

Pyrrha stopped in her tracks, skidding to a halt with one foot, when she reached the open gate. With widened eyes, she gasped and walked through the tall open archway, her mouth slightly open in astonishment. Despite her wonder when she saw the row of houses lined up in front of her on either side of the street, she soon became aware of the number of eyes staring and gazing upon her as she observed her surroundings. She shrunk back into herself, nervous, especially when she realised how the residents of this town were dressed.

It didn't take long for her to reach the centre of the town. Her eyes scoured the area until her eyes landed on a man standing by a rack full of newspapers, shouting about something that Pyrrha couldn't distinguish. Her face brightened and she relaxed, breathing a deep sigh of relief and calmly heading over to the man. He was roughly foot smaller than Pyrrha herself, and the top of his head shone without the hair he had there, but around the sides and back of his head was brown hair.

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha called out to him as she approached him, trying to be as friendly as possible. When he saw her, he paled, as if he feared her. She relaxed her hold on the straps of the backpacks she was carrying, which were now beginning to wear her down. "I'm looking for some friends of mine; you or anyone else here may know about them or have seen them. There are four of them. One is a girl in a distinctive red cape, and another is a girl with white hair and dressed mostly in white. There may have also been a blonde girl with them and a girl with black hair that wears a bow?"

Around her, Pyrrha heard muttering from people who passed by.

"She's so tall, and she's dressed so... weirdly."

"Perhaps she's one of those outsiders, too!"

" _Perhaps_? _Really_?! Of course she is! Who the hell within these walls would dress like that and ask around for those other outsiders that showed up the same day Trost was attacked and reclaimed?!"

Pyrrha shrunk back into herself again. She didn't like being in an unfamiliar place on her own, where no one knew her, much less trusted her upon appearance or took a liking to her. She looked back at the man. "Please tell me you've seen or have heard anything about them. I and my teammates back home are worried sick about them."

The man coughed and handed her a newspaper off the rack, pointing his finger at the story on the front page. "Yeah, we've heard about the outsiders. They showed up here two days ago on top of Wall Rose, and even helped out the soldiers in defending the Trost District and fighting the Titans. Some say they did a better job than most of the kids in the Cadet Corps. Read this. If they are your friends, like you say, you should find it interesting that they're featured."

Pyrrha hesitantly let go of three of the backpack straps and left them balancing on her shoulder as she grabbed the newspaper from the man. She glanced at the printing, her eyes swiftly scanning the paper for anything that would give her clues to where Team RWBY were now. It wasn't everyday that she'd had to go from watching the news on any device capable of transmitting video to holding a newspaper in the middle of a street.

"I see," Pyrrha handed the paper back to the man upon reading that Ruby and Blake had been taken in by a force known as the Military Police. "If you don't mind me asking, since two of them were taken in by the Military Police, would you happen to have an idea of where they might be being kept?"

"What do ya think I am, a damned info broker?" The man clicked his tongue, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of Pyrrha's face.

"I'm sorry, but you must realise by now I'm an outsider too. I'll take as much help as I can get here." Pyrrha's hand found the three backpack straps she'd let go of.

The man folded his arms. "You'll have to ask one of the soldiers standing by in the city. I only sell newspapers and overhear rumours from passers-by, and that's it."

"Ah. Well, thank you for the help anyway." Pyrrha spun on her heel and gave the man a smile, before turning her back completely and walking away. Perhaps it would be wise for her to go back to the castle she'd landed next to, but she soon realised it was getting dark, and cold. She needed a place to sleep, and she couldn't really envision herself sleeping well on the streets. They'd have some comfortable beds in the castle, even if she would have to clean the room.

But venturing out that far, in open terrain, when it was getting dark, was risky and although she was strong, her Aura had already suffered damage and she didn't want to cause any problems with starting a fight, even in self-defence. But where? She could always use the bedsheets and bed covers and pillows and duvets and possibly even the extra mattresses she brought with her, but the question was where would be warm enough for her to go.

Pyrrha stopped walking and angled her head at an inopportune angle, wondering if there was any way to get to the top of the wall. She remembered what the man had said to her about asking the soldiers to see if they knew anything, and so she turned her head, looking for a man or woman who would be able to help her.

She found a man, not very distinctive, standing a couple of metres from the enormous gate at the end of the street she was backtracking through. She walked briskly towards him, carrying herself confidently with a smile, and before long she was standing in front of him, with him looking the extra few inches up at her.

"Hello. I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know any way I could get to the top of that wall?" She tilted her head at the man, noting that he was sweating. He was also dressed very smartly in uniform, in a brown jacket adorned by badges with grey shields behind a green unicorn with a white mane. She decided to explain herself. "I'm looking for four of my friends. They came into this world two days ago as far as I know. I was hoping to get to higher ground in order to try and find them." she half-lied, but clenched a fist over the centre of her chest to try and seem sincere.

The man considered this for a moment, and then nodded his head. "This gear I have will get you up there in no time. Hop onto my back and I'll take you up there."

Pyrrha stole a glance at the gear adorning his waist, out legs, and hips, before giving him a nod. She climbed onto his back and held on. On the sides of his belt, two hook wires shot from the metal boxes and hooked themselves into the wall higher than she would have predicted. Then they suddenly left the ground, and within the span of about a minute or a bit more, the soldier's feet landed on the top of the wall.

Pyrrha stepped off of his back and observed the new place, stepping forward and away from the edge as she gripped the straps of the backpacks again. There were old-looking cannons stationed on a track along the edges, and they carried on along the wall, with a wooden crate between every few cannons. She turned back to the soldier and gave him a polite wave, smile, and nod of the head. "Thanks for the lift. If I don't manage to find them, I'll stay up here for the night. You can return to your post now, since I can take it from here."

The soldier nodded and without another word, he left, jumping off the wall with a hiss of his gear.

Pyrrha strolled along the edges of the walls until she got bored and settled between the nearest ammunition crate and cannon, taking a seat there. She opened up her own backpack and pulled out a mailing package with the words ' _ **BEDSHEETS, COVERS, PILLOWS AND DUVETS**_ ' written on the package in all-caps and bold, black marker pen. Opening the package, Pyrrha held it upside down and all of her scarlet bedsheets, bed covers, pillows and duvets toppled out of it. She planted her rear on the heap of fabrics as she placed the now empty package into her backpack and slung it on her back.

She placed Team RWBY's backpacks beside the cannon, leaning against the frame, and proceeded to lay the bedsheets and the covers underneath herself. Pyrrha placed a pillow down and gently and carefully laid her duvets on top of the covers and bedsheets. She got under the duvets but reached out to grab Team RWBY's backpacks and pull all of them close to her, into her, guarding the bags as she wrapped both arms around all four and laid her head down on her pillow.

* * *

 **Erwin Smith**

* * *

"Commander Pixis. You're the C.O. of the Garrison Regiment, and I'm the Commanding Officer of the Survey Corps and the Scouts. Some people might disapprove of our meeting like this."

"Hah. You're as straight-laced as your reputation. Nothing untoward here. We just coincidentally bumped into one another while out for a morning stroll." Pixis waved his hand dismissively. Erwin looked down at the concrete of the top of the wall, uncertain. He had a feeling in his gut that he couldn't quite pinpoint the source of. It was a feeling he didn't like, though; he knew that much. "Protocol doesn't prevent us from chatting under the circumstances." Pixis continued, lowering his hand behind his back. "You are aware of the Military Police plan to take custody of Eren Jaeger, I presume?"

At best, it was a dreaded feeling that something bad was happening, or was going to happen. He usually got that on the days before he and the Scouts set out on an expedition outside the walls. But today there was an amplification in that feeling. Perhaps the fact that the heiress, Weiss Schnee, had unlocked his Aura along with that cadet, Armin Arlert?

"Yes," Erwin answered, "I received word yesterday. They plan to hold a deliberation on the matter."

Pixis stopped walking. Erwin stopped in his tracks as well. A part of him wondered what the other Commanding Officer was thinking about.

"The decision has been left to Premier Zachary – whether cadet Jaeger's future lies with the Scouts, or in the hands of the Military Police."

"Zach? You mean Premier Dhalis Zachary?" Erwin questioned. He hadn't thought Eren's... unique... case would have warranted Premier Zachary to make the decision, but maybe that was because he hadn't really thought about who would make the final decision on what to do with Eren.

"The Military Police, the Garrison Regiment, and the Scouts: all three fall under his jurisdiction." Pixis divulged, turning his body halfway around, looking over the district below. "This decision will be based entirely on one factor: is Eren Jaeger's existence a benefit, or a handicap to our survival? If deemed detrimental, Jaeger will be executed without a thought. Right then and there, if need be. I, for one, do not want to see him die. However, many in the Garrison Regiment – I'm sad to say – are fearful of Eren's unique ability. My hands are tied. The most I can do is avoid agreeing with the MPs." Pixis reached into an inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his silver flask, gliding his thumb over it. He unscrewed the top of the flask. "Do the odds favour you?"

Erwin lowered his head again. "No they don't. And yet, we do have a proposal prepared." At that, the older Commanding Officer paused his drinking, and looked at Erwin from the corner of his eye. "Whether it will work or not all depends on how the debate unfolds."

"You mean, you're going to play it by ear?" Pixis fully turned in Erwin's direction.

"Our job is reconnaissance beyond the walls; playing things by ear is all we ever do."

Pixis broke out into laughter. He spun on his heel and began walking away, waving his hand in the air. "You're not so uptight after all, it would seem. Thank you for the pleasant conversation! And good luck, Commander."

When Pixis was out of earshot, Erwin decided to head back the way he'd came, but stopped in his tracks yet again when he found a girl sitting by the cannons with five large and presumably heavy backpacks surrounding her. One a crimson colour, another one white, one was black, another was yellow, and the one she was using had a bronze coating. The bag was open, and in it he could see many cylindrical shaped objects. She also held one in her hand as she shoved a pillow easily into it, and it seemed to disappear within the apparent container, despite its size. She picked up the many bedsheets and bed covers left and pushed the fabrics into the container as well, and it didn't expand as much as he'd expected. One her things were cleared away, she closed the container and placed it in the bronze bag, before closing and securing the backpack and slinging it over both of her shoulders. She picked up the yellow and black backpacks by one strap each and slung them over on shoulder, before picking up the white and crimson backpacks by one strap each and slinging the bags over her other shoulder.

When the girl stood up, Erwin would have been lying if he said he wasn't taken aback by how tall she was. She reached 6 feet tall. Rose red hair was tied back in a waist-length ponytail that curled slightly into a loose ringlet. Vivid green eyes, combined with light-green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her eyes, was a contrast to the red and gold she wore. Aside from being tall, she was also quite muscular compared to the other girls like Weiss or Ruby or Blake. Around her head was a golden circlet headpiece situated above her ears, and hanging from it on thin chains were a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds. She also sported a large, golden gorget that covered her neck. Armour, maybe?

Her torso was covered by two layers of clothing. The upper layer was a bronze, strapless top, split divided vertically down the front. It seemed quite stiff, as it maintained its shape without any visible support – Erwin assumed it was probably made of metal of some sort. The top also had riveting or some form of small, round, dull yellow embroidery around the sides, and a darker gold edged the top of the upper layer, as well as down each side of the split. The lower layer was a low, golden V-neck shirt that also didn't have any sleeves and wrapped tightly around her torso, though left a small portion of her lower waist open. On each of her arms were dark-brown, perhaps black, gloves that reached up to the middle of her upper arms, and there was a golden, decorated bracelet on her left upper arm. Not to mention, on her left forearm, over her glove, she donned a golden bracer.

On her bottom half, she wore an elastic, black, A-line miniskirt and scarlet ankle-length drapery that wrapped around her skirt, held in place by a small, circular golden plate by her right hip, as well as a belt that carried two pouches on the opposite side. On her legs, starting below her mid-thigh and continuing downwards into her boots, were elaborate golden greaves and a pair of cuisses that began mid-thigh and ended slightly above her knees. Her feet were masked by high-heeled boots, which were dark-brown with a bronze trim, reaching up to her mid-calf.

But there was something on her back, underneath under all of the bags. It was circular – a shield? It seemed likely, considering there was also the compact form of a weapon sitting between the redhead's back and her supposed shield.

"I take it you're from Remnant as well?" Erwin asked with a tilt of his head. As soon as he spoke, the girl looked up from tightening her ponytail and fixing the placing of the armour on her legs. Erwin gave her a small smile and nodded his head in the direction of where he was headed.

She caught on quickly and stepped into line beside him, each hand holding the three bag straps on each shoulder as her feet fell into rhythm with Erwin's own. "Yes, I am. Since you know about Remnant, you must know Team RWBY, right?"

"I had the luck of being able to meet three of the four yesterday. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladonna. I haven't had the chance to meet the last girl, Ruby's older sister, as far as I've heard."

"You mean Yang. So, what's going on with them? I brought each of them their belongings and quite a bit more, along with some supplies we thought they would need."

" _'We'_?" Erwin furrowed his brows, puzzled. "Were there more you ended up here with?"

"I don't think so – I remember being transported here alone, but I would think my own teammates would try to follow me here." She shook her head and her eyes widened slowly. "Oh, that's right, I haven't even introduced myself! My name is Pyrrha Nikos. The team I'm part of – Team JNPR – are all close friends with Team RWBY, and we were chosen to go on a mission to get back the devices that transported them to this world."

"Judging from the fact that you're here, I'd assume things went awry on the mission?"

"You could say that. A mishap occurred because I made the mistake of coming into contact with one of the devices, and as a result I was sent here. I have no idea what became of my teammates after I disappeared from Remnant too." The girl, Pyrrha, shook her head as if to rid herself of the worry weighing her down. Instead, she turned and her eyes met Erwin's. "I almost forgot, I didn't ask for your name yet."

"The name's Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps and the Scouts. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Nikos."

* * *

 **Ruby Rose**

* * *

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were ushered through a door by Military Police soldiers and were led into the courtroom for Eren's trial. Neither they, nor Levi or anyone else, knew that they were going to be brought in, but some news of another outsider that appeared yesterday evening had been circulating and Ruby had a vague sense that one of their friends had ended up here too. Yang was sleeping in a room in the old castle, meaning she couldn't be here to see the trial, and honestly, Ruby had wanted to join her sister.

Upon looking around the room at the number of people in the room, Ruby began to panic. There were too many people in the room; too many for her own comfort. Ruby was already on the brink of shutting down. Her eyes widened to a concerning point, but Weiss and Blake placed a reassuring hand on each of her shoulders and she began breathing exercises to help herself calm down.

How she feared crowds as large as this...

But despite her fear, even if there was the possibility of her having a panic attack at some point during the trial, as long as she had her teammates there to take care of her, she felt as if she would be alright. The fear never subsided completely, but the effects of it dulled a bit.

They were told to join Armin and Mikasa in the stands, and none of the three girls had any qualms about doing so. Once they regrouped with the duo that neither Ruby nor Blake had seen for around two days, Ruby noted a familiar 6-foot-tall redheaded figure standing behind Erwin and Levi on the stands where most of the Scouts were standing with them. Her vivid green eyes darted from left to right as she held her upper arm, likely for reassurance. Ruby also noted the five large backpacks she was carrying on her back: one crimson, one white, one black, one yellow, and the last one was bronze.

"Pyrrha?" Ruby couldn't help but ask, and she immediately shrunk back into herself when she heard her own voice echo loudly through the courtroom amidst all of the others chatting, causing the others in the stands to lower the volume of their voices and stare at her.

Pyrrha was the first to look in the direction of Ruby, Weiss, and Blake anyhow, and her face brightened and her eyes sparkled, and she rushed to the edge of the railings with a wide smile. "It's lovely to see you girls safe and unharmed. Where's Yang?"

"Yang's resting currently. She's recovering from some trauma and the sudden sickness that came with it." Blake explained, much to Pyrrha's apparent surprise and concern, evidenced when Pyrrha's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. But before Pyrrha had the chance to speak, Blake stepped closer to Mikasa and craned her neck to see their dear friend. "How did you end up here anyway? And where are Jaune, Nora, and Ren?"

"They're back on Remnant. I'll explain the story later. It's, uh—" Pyrrha scratched the back of her neck, then each of her hands found the three bag straps on each of her shoulders, gripping them tightly—"it's quite a lengthy explanation."

When Pyrrha's gaze moved to the doors, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all turned their heads in time to see the doors of the courtroom open. In walked Eren, being led through the door by a woman wearing glasses, and she said something to him before shutting the door on him. The doors shut loudly, making Ruby jump and hold her hand to her mouth to prevent any surprised noises from escaping. Weiss gently lifted Ruby's hands away from her mouth and held one of them. After Ruby's hands were back by her sides, Weiss let go of Ruby's hand and instead wrote letters onto the back of her hand, which Ruby eventually realised were words.

 _C-A-L-M-D-O-W-N. W-E-A-R-E H-E-R-E-W-I-T-H-Y-O-U._

Ruby could feel her muscles relax and she passed a small, grateful smile to Weiss, regaining her composure. Ruby looked to the door again, watching Eren standing there and staring up hopelessly at the scene before him, being held by guards and his wrists bound by cuffs behind his back.

"Alright, move it!" one of the guards pushed Eren's back with the gun barrel of his musket. Ruby had to bite her lip to prevent herself from speaking out in court and complaining of their treatment of him.

Eren was pushed into a kneeling position on a marble platform in the centre of the room. A bar was planted on the chains of Eren's cuffs and gave the sound of being locked in place. She saw Eren lightly tug on the cuffs, but other than that, he was trapped in that position. Ruby couldn't help but wonder how cold his feet must have been, considering he didn't have any socks or shoes on.

"I'm assuming that's the judge?" Blake asked, nodding her head in the direction of the rather tall seat and podium, which a bearded man with glasses carrying an overcoat was taking a seat in, throwing his coat over the back of the chair.

A moment after he made himself comfortable, he slammed his hammer down and his loud voice boomed over the room:

"Court is now in session."

Ruby flinched slightly at his voice as she hadn't expected someone's voice to be so deep and loud, and it terrified her. Though, she desperately hoped no one had noticed herself flinch.

"Miss Rose, can you make a statement regarding Miss Xiao Long's whereabouts?"

Ruby's head shot up and she stared at the judge with her eyes widened, but managed to come up with something. "My sister Yang isn't able to make it today due to her sickness from the trauma she suffered during the battle of Trost, which she's still recovering from as we speak." Ruby told him, though she was a bit self-conscious that her nervousness meant she had spoken a bit too fast. Weiss wrapped an arm around the team leader's waist and pulled Ruby into her, attempting to comfort her. She wrote on the backs of Ruby's hands again.

 _Y-O-U-D-I-D-G-O-O-D. W-E-L-L-D-O-N-E._

"I-Is she alright?" Armin asked, although quietly, as he watched Weiss rub Ruby's upper arm.

"She'll be fine. She just has a fear of large crowds of people, and without Yang here, at least one of us has to be there to comfort her so she doesn't have a panic attack." Blake explained, reaching over to pat Ruby's head, reassuring the girl that she was there too. After lowering her arm, Blake then looked up to the judge. "Ruby is not very experienced with large crowds and speaking in front of many people. Yang is usually the one who comforts her, but she isn't here to do so. If you have any questions about our team, Weiss and I can answer them."

"Very well." The judge nodded, before turning his head back to Eren, staring down at the poor boy through his glasses. "Let us proceed. As expected, covering up your existence has proven quite fruitless, and unless we publicly disclose your existence, one way or another, we risk the outbreak of widespread civil unrest. The choice must be made, and the regiment that takes custody of you will determine your fate: Military Police, or the Scout Regiment. To begin, the Military Police will present their case."

"Thank you! My name is Nile Dawk. I am Commander of the Military Police. Our recommendation, following a thorough examination of his physiology: subject Eren Jaeger should be disposed of immediately." declared the Commander of the Military Police. Ruby pursed her lips and glared. Ruby didn't like what he announced his intentions were: "We acknowledge that Jaeger's ability played a part in turning back the latest Titan incursion, however, as has been stated, his mere existence is creating a swell of rebellious sentiment. For the greater good, after we have gathered all the information we can from him, we would see him made a fallen warrior of humanity."

Ruby's breath got caught in her throat.

" **Unacceptable!** This verminous fiend has defiled the mighty walls—" someone called out. Their words were lost in the space around Ruby, as she had zoned out temporarily, in favour of gripping Weiss' hand, hoping the heiress would stop her from losing her cool. But the judge's voice snapped her back to the situation in the courtroom.

"And now I'd like to hear the Scout Regiment's proposed plan."

"Yes, sir. As the Commander of the Survey Corps, I, Erwin Smith, propose the following: let Eren join our ranks. Reinstate him as a full member of the Scouts, and we will utilise his Titan ability to retake Wall Maria. That is all."

The hairs on the back on her neck stood on end. She lifted her head; someone was watching her, she knew it. Her eyes looked to Weiss, who was sharing glimpses between Eren, Blake, Pyrrha, the judge, and Armin and Mikasa. So, she turned to Armin and Mikasa. They were too busy staring at Eren. Pyrrha? No, she was staring straight ahead, passing glances between Erwin, Levi, and the judge.

It was only when she turned her head and let her eyes scour the room did she realise that Eren was gazing in her direction, from the corner of his eye. In his eyes was an obvious sense of panic, and maybe even hints of a fleeting plea. However, she could only see what was on the surface, or what he chose to show her. Why he trusted her enough to let her read the feelings in his eyes so easily was anyone's guess, though. Ruby let go of Weiss' hand and decided to tell Weiss, via writing on the back of her hand.

 _I-T-H-I-N-K-E-R-E-N-W-A-N-T-S-U-S-T-O-H-E-L-P-H-I-M. H-E-L-O-O-K-S-P-R-E-T-T-Y-S-C-A-R-E-D._

Weiss glanced at Ruby from the corner of her eye, and then her eyes trailed to Eren. She began writing on the back of Ruby's hand again.

 _H-E-S-L-O-O-K-I-N-G-A-T-Y-O-U. H-E-S-W-O-R-R-I-E-D-A-B-O-U-T-Y-O-U._

"Is that it?" the judge asked.

"Yes. With his assistance, sir, I'm certain we can reclaim Wall Maria. Although, I believe our top priority is perfectly clear."

"Quite bold." the judge remarked, his eyebrows raised for a split second. "Assuming you were given clearance, where do you plan to launch this operation from? Commander Pixis, the wall in Trost has been completely sealed, is that correct?"

"Yes." Commander Pixis responded with a somewhat grim smile. "I doubt its gate will ever open again."

"We'll depart from Calaneth District to the east. From there, we'll make for Shiganshina. A new route can be established as we proceed." Erwin said, and Ruby could see the slight of Pyrrha's head when he said 'Calaneth District'.

"But that's ridiculous! Our time and money could be better spent sealing up _all_ the gates and making the equipment to rid our world of those outsiders!" one man shouted, slamming his hands on the wooden stand in front of him.

Ruby puffed her chest and pouted, before she stopped and stepped forward, slamming her hands on the wooden stand in front of her, imitating him. "Why don't _you_ leave us out of it? This trial is about Eren and Eren only, therefore, even you should have realised _he_ comes first and foremost. Besides, we're only trying to help with the situation you and the rest of humanity have found yourselves in. Blake and I were the ones who convinced Weiss and Yang to push their worries aside and help the soldiers when we first encountered the Colossal Titan." Ruby automatically snapped in defence, folding her arms over her chest as her temper rose, her silver irises shined and lit up to the point where they almost became white. Ruby's head started to pound as soon as that happened, though, and she had to hold her head while her irises darkened and turned back to their normal silver colour.

There was a brief moment of silence, and while Ruby quickly realised that she had spoken out, she was too busy trying to soothe her headache. Her face heated up in embarrassment, and she planted her face in the palm of one of her hands, peeking out from between her fingers. Weiss was offering a sweet smile, and a bead of sweat dropped from the side of Armin's head whilst his mouth curved into an awkward, barely-there grin.

"That being said," Blake stepped forward as well, "we _only_ agreed to help the _soldiers_. And at least _we're_ trying to help. What are you doing for the military besides hiding and hoping they don't break through the walls? You're going to die the moment you're born, regardless of how long you last. At the end of the day, staying living like cattle in what little land you guys have left won't help the people that are too prideful to accept outside help and instead look a gift horse in the mouth."

Ruby pressed a hand to her heart and gave Blake a thankful, softened look.

"All I'm saying is, we should just reinforce the blasted gates and wash our hands of the entire affair!" the man retorted, still defiant.

"Shut your mouth, spineless merchant dog! With a Titan and the females on our side, we can finally return to Wall Maria!" another man argued. Ruby shivered and attempted to shrink back into her cloak.

"We can't afford any more of your childish antics or your delusions!"

"Squealing louder won't help your case, pig." Levi suddenly stepped in, and Ruby caught him sparing a glance at her. Not even a glare, just a slight look that somehow comforted her. "While we're bolstering our defences, do you think the Titans are going to stand idly by? And when you say _"we can't afford"_ , do you speak for anyone other than your fat merchant friends? Do you pigs even _realise_ that most of our people are struggling just to survive off of what little land we have left?"

"I'm simply saying that sealing the gates is the only _guaranteed_ protection we've got!" he replied stubbornly.

"Hold your tongue, you vile, belligerent erratic! Are you really suggesting that we lowly humans meddle with Wall Rose?! A gift to us from on high?! The wall is a miracle, and its divinity transcends human comprehension! Don't you understand?!"

"It's the cult's fault. They're the ones who delayed the Garrison's arming of the walls." Armin whispered, almost in disbelief.

"That shows you the sick amount of support and power they've got." Rico quietly chimed in, her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed. "I don't trust them at all."

"—Such sacrilege!"

"Oh, you're insane! Shut your trap!"

"How dare you?!"

All of the quarrelling in the courtroom was halted when the judge smacked the palm of his hand down on the countertop. The drum-like sound seemed to alert everyone in the courtroom that the judge had had enough of the debate regarding the walls.

"Order! I ask that you save your personal sentiments for a more appropriate venue." he scolded, and Ruby was reminded with a shiver down her spine of how much his voice carried over the large room. "Now then, Mister Jaeger, I have a question for you. As a soldier, you have made a solemn pledge to answer humanity's call. Can you still serve by controlling your ability?"

"Yes! I will, sir!" Eren replied, lifting his head.

"Oh, is that so? But this report from the battle for Trost contradicts that statement." the judge said, lifting up a piece of paper, likely the report document. "Just after transforming, it seems you made an attempt to crush Mikasa Ackerman, Blake Belladonna, and Ruby Rose."

Ruby would be lying if she said she didn't flinch at the calling of her name just as she recalled the incident, and she glanced to Blake to see her arching a brow at the judge. Eren immediately turned his head in the direction of Ruby, Mikasa, and Blake, his jaw agape as he stared in horror at the three. He clearly didn't know he had done that. Ruby's eyes wandered to Mikasa, seeing her holding a bit of her hair to her face, covering up the scar she'd attained from the incident. A painful reminder, as it were.

Rico mumbled something to Mikasa that Ruby wasn't able to hear. Ruby looked back to Eren with an apologetic smile and a kind wave, attempting to silently assure him that none of them were seriously injured. That didn't appear to help, though.

"And who is this Mikasa Ackerman?" the judge asked.

"Me. That would be me, sir." Mikasa responded, staring at the judge from the corner of her eye.

"Alright then. Is it true that Eren Jaeger assaulted you, Miss Belladonna and Miss Rose while he was in Titan form?"

Mikasa hesitated to answer, staring squarely at Eren. She then glanced to Ruby and Blake, to which the girls themselves merely shrugged and passed her a concerned look.

"Answer the Premier honestly." Rico reminded Mikasa, making a side-glance at the other girl. "Eren's future depends on it."

Mikasa, after a moment, finally decided on an answer.

"Yes. All of that's true."

More debating broke out in the courtroom, and Ruby felt self-conscious. She held eye-contact with Eren, feeling a sudden wave of pressure to say something about it. But before she could say anything, Blake chimed in: "Not all," she shouted, her voice as loud yet mellow as the judge's, and Ruby and Weiss stared at the girl, unaware their friend could even take on that kind of tone. Everyone else did the same, and shut up immediately. "Eren did not hurt me, and from what I saw, he did not intend to hurt Ruby. The two of us were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeah! Blake's right!" Ruby managed to shout although everyone had already gone quiet and she didn't need to. But despite the embarrassment, Ruby continued: "He didn't mean to attack us. It was partly my fault for getting hurt as well, considering I jumped in front of Mikasa to protect her." Ruby clenched her combat skirt. She turned to Eren again. "At the time, Eren wasn't in control of his Titan ability. In fact, he only _learned_ to control it immediately after the incident. Besides, if you look at him, you'll see that he had no idea he'd done such a thing until now, when it was brought up."

"All good points of argument, Miss Rose," the judge started and turned his head in Mikasa's direction, "but can you back all that up, Mikasa Ackerman?"

"Yes. Ruby's right. Although it's clear now that Eren didn't intend to attack me, Ruby did try to protect me and ended up getting caught in the crossfire." Mikasa agreed with a nod of her head. "But, he has also saved our lives twice before, and in each circumstance, he was using his Titan ability! The first, shortly after Trost fell, Blake and I were nearly killed by a Titan, but then Eren came. He stepped in and protected us both, with Ruby directing him on his shoulder. The second time, when he transformed to shield Armin, Ruby, Weiss and me from cannon fire. I implore you to take these facts into consideration."

"Objection!" Commander Nile interjected, rather abruptly at that. "I have reason to believe that personal feelings play a large part her testimony. Records show that Mikasa Ackerman was orphaned at a young age, and was subsequently taken in by the Jaeger family. What's more, our own internal investigation into this matter led to a most shocking discovery. Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, at the tender age of nine, dealt with three adult kidnappers by stabbing all of them to death." At this, the courtroom began buzzing with chatter and gasps. "Granted, this was done in self-defence. All the same, one cannot help but question the violent nature of the act. Knowing all of this, should we really invest in him? Money, manpower, perhaps the very fate of us all!"

"Mikasa's personal feelings in regards to Eren may play a part, sure," Blake interjected, almost jabbing Weiss in the side when she sliced the air horizontally with her arm. "But Ruby and I can still back Mikasa up, regardless, and unless you've forgotten, are we not outsiders? Why, then, do you think we would do that, considering we don't even know her and Eren enough to have such personal feelings needed to defend them?"

"Because it's the truth, and the only thing you can do to counter the truth is to produce doubt for the person instead of the facts!" Ruby stepped forward again, her nails digging into the wood of the stand in front of her. "And while you may have a lot on Mikasa, you don't have anything on us to rule us out other than the obvious fact we're not from here. You don't have anything to use against us and you know it, _Commander_." Ruby said, calling him 'Commander' through gritted teeth.

"Maybe they're one!"

"I bet they're not human either!"

"Yeah! Yeah, you're right! Dissect those three too, just to be safe!"

Eren leant forward, pulling on his cuffs in spite of the fact he was weighted to the floor. "Now hold on a second! Maybe I'm a monster that you want dead, but you leave them out of this! They're innocent!"

"Like we'd trust you!"

"It's the truth!" Both Eren and Pyrrha screamed in unintended coordination.

Pyrrha dropped all four of Team RWBY's bags and pushed in front of Levi and Erwin, slamming her hands down so hard on the wood that it left cracks under her palms. "Leave my friends alone! You have no right to pass such judgement when they've helped you simply to survive! Yang isn't lying in a bed sick just so her sister and team partner could be accused of being the same as what caused her to be so sick in the first place!" She yelled so loud over the courtroom she nearly screamed.

"I've never seen Pyrrha so angry since she saw Cardin bullying Velvet and pulling on her bunny ears." Ruby commented, both brows raised.

"Y-know," Weiss stepped forward, her arms folded. "I wonder how you feel knowing you've pushed one of the kindest people I've met up to her limit and past it. How do you sleep at night? I'm assuming that you don't, considering you're all playing with a bigger fire than what Yang's able to produce when _she_ 's angry.

"They must be one if he's protecting them!"

" **STOP IT!** " Eren bellowed out over the courtroom, bashing his cuffs against the metal slate that held them in place. Many people in the stands gasped at the action, and more than a few others were left with jaws agape. Eren's head lowered. Ruby could hear the amount of rage in the shaky breaths he took. "You're wrong... about it all. But you're so intent on pushing selfish agendas, you're blind to what's in front of you."

"Wait... what do you mean?" Commander Nile asked, his brows furrowing.

"What does it even matter? None of you have even _seen_ a Titan, so why are you so afraid, huh?" Eren asked, lifting his head with a vicious glare, aimed at the MPs. "There's no sense in having power if you're not going to use it to fight! If you're too scared to fight for your life, fine! Let me do it! You...you're all **_cowards_!** Just _**shut up**_ , and **_put all your faith in me_!** "

The entire room went quiet. Everyone's jaws were left hanging. It took most of the MPs a while to recover, but when they did, the first one to take action was Commander Nile.

"Take aim, damn it!"

"R-Right! Yes sir!"

The soldier stood beside Nile nervously cocked and aimed a musket at Eren, ready to shoot him at a moment's notice. Ruby almost jumped out from behind the stands, reaching her arm out as if it would help prevent him from firing. " **NO!** "

A blur rushed past Ruby, leaving a breeze that ruffled her hair. A loud kick was what she heard next, followed by the sight of Eren's tooth being knocked out due to a boot belonging to Captain Levi having hit the left side of his face. As Eren's tooth bounced on the marble floor, leaving a small trail of blood, Eren raised his head to look at Levi. Levi, in turn, kicked him in the chest so hard Ruby worried he winded the brunet. As if adding insult to injury, Levi then grabbed Eren by both his collar and his hair, and hit Eren's face with his knee.

Ruby could only blink in horror as Levi relentlessly pummelled Eren with his feet until the brunet's face was covered in small splatters of blood and the dirt from the Captain's shoes. Even Nile seemed to be shaken up about the way Levi was beating the boy senseless. But, to be fair, she'd be lying if she didn't think most of the people in the room were watching the scene through sunken eyes, which hid hints of shock and even a small amount of pity for Eren.

Mikasa's audible gasp reached Ruby's ears in enough time to see the girl almost race out from behind the bars; likely to fight Levi, if Ruby were to guess. Thankfully for them, Armin grabbed Mikasa's arm and pulled her back.

"Mikasa, wait!" Armin told her.

Blake quickly stepped around Rico and planted a hand on Mikasa's shoulder. "It's part of a plan, I'm sure."

"What kind of plan involves beating him?" Mikasa frantically turned towards Blake, her voice shaky.

"If I'm correct, the Scout Regiment wants to prove to the MPs and the judge that Eren can be subdued if he gets a little too rowdy, even if that means letting Levi beat him senseless. Not that it would be like that if it gets the message through and he ends up with the Scouts, hopefully, but it should get the point across." Blake whispered. "Think of it as a tactic to help Eren end up with them instead of the MPs. It's not anything personal."

Levi ended the brutal beating by smashing Eren's face into the floor just as he was trying to breathe through the blood falling from his mouth and nose. He stayed there, his foot planted on the back of Eren's head.

"You know, personally, I think nothing instils discipline like pain." Levi stated, cold and blunt and looking down his nose at Eren. "You don't need a good talking to. What you're in need of, boy, is to be taught a lesson. And you happen to be in perfect kicking position."

The Captain resumed with the kicking. With only his two feet, Levi swiped Eren's head up and proceeded to curbstomp the poor boy, shoving Eren's face into the floor and creating even more bruises and blood. Every single grunt and noise of pain Eren made caused Ruby to flinch. She caught a shiver going down Weiss' back.

"Now, hold on, Levi—" Nile stretched his hand out.

"What is it?" Levi asked, releasing Eren's face from under his boot. Eren's back was now leaning against the pole that kept him chained to the floor, but Eren's head dropped as soon as Levi's foot stopped holding it up.

"It's dangerous." Nile told him in almost a hushed voice, as if to warn him. "What if he gets angry? Turns into a Titan?"

As soon as Nile said that, Eren shakily lifted his head up to reveal a grimace that looked like it was fuelled by hatred. Eren glared angrily at Levi, which was quite brave since Levi was honestly quite scary, but Levi returned it just as well with a single kick to Eren's face.

"Don't be silly," Levi responded as he kneeled down and grabbed Eren by the hair, lifting the boy's head up. "After all, you guys just want to dissect him, don't you?" None of the Military Police could answer that. Levi released his grip on Eren's hair, and stood back up. "During the time when he was transformed, they say that Jaeger was able to kill twenty Titans before he finally ran out of strength. As an enemy, his intelligence makes him all the more dangerous. But _I_ could still take him down without a problem. How many of you can say the same? Before you torment the beast, you better think: can _you_ actually kill him?"

" _We_ could," Weiss shrugged her shoulders, " _if_ we wanted to."

Levi levelled a side-glare at Weiss, and she returned it with an equally intimidating look.

Erwin raised his hand. "Sir! I have a proposition."

"Proceed."

Erwin lowered his arm. "There's still too much we don't know, and no doubt his danger will be ever present. As such, I suggest this: Eren Jaeger be placed under Captain Levi's supervision, and we'll conduct a Recon mission outside of the walls."

"Jaeger will join you in this excursion?"

"Yes sir. But not just Jaeger. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, and their friend here, Pyrrha Nikos, will join us as well. Their abilities and knowledge will no doubt prove useful." All four members of Team RWBY, as well as Pyrrha, looked to Commander Erwin at the mention of their names. "And you can look upon the mission's results yourself. And if he successfully controls his ability, Eren will approve in his value to mankind."

"Eren Jaeger will be closely supervised?" the judge warily inquired, but apparently already knew the answer. "And if he should lose control?"

"I can definitely kill him if it comes to that." Levi answered, twisting his body halfway to look up at the judge. "The only downside is, there's absolutely no middle ground."

Ruby flinched. She was a terrible liar, and it would be painfully obvious to anyone that she didn't want Eren to die, most of anyone. Her grip on the wooden countertop tightened as plans ran through her mind ceaselessly. The only one that really stood out to her was the hope that she could at least try to find a way to stop Eren from potentially going out of control aside from simply killing him.

"Then I have made my choice."

* * *

"Well, that went better than I expected."

After the court hearing, Ruby, Eren, Erwin, Weiss, Blake, Levi, Hange, Pyrrha, and Mike had gathered in a room. The sun was setting outside, though it still provided enough lighting in the room without having to light any candles. Not to mention, Blake was still able to see, which was always a good thing, especially for the girl herself.

"Does it hurt?" Hange asked.

Eren pressed a damp cloth to his cheek, which was slightly bruised from the beating he'd sustained earlier. "Yeah..."

"Yeah? Describe it to me." Hange responded with an excited expression, edging forward.

Eren's jaw hung open in shock.

"Sorry for all that. But the theatrics _did_ get you placed in our custody." Erwin treaded over to the couch where Eren sat. Ruby was seated beside him.

"No, I understand." Eren replied, glancing towards the floor.

Hange stood up and stepped aside. Erwin stood in front of Eren and Ruby. "I can assure you the pain was worth it. We played our trump card at the perfect time." The Commander crouched down to Eren's level, holding his hand out. "You have my utmost respect. Eren, I'm glad that you're on our team."

Eren's eyes sparkled as he reached out to shake Erwin's hand. "Me too! Glad to be here, sir!"

Ruby chuckled beside him, patting Eren's back lightly, to make sure she wouldn't hurt him. However, that was short-lived when Levi abruptly perched himself down on the couch, on the opposite side of Ruby. Both Eren and Ruby flinched.

"So, Eren." Levi started.

"S-Sir?"

"You don't resent me now, do you?"

"N-No," Eren loosely folded his arms across his torso and looked away uncomfortably, "I can see that what you did was necessary, sir."

"Good; then you understand."

"Still, you were too rough! You knocked his tooth out!" Hange knelt down in front of Eren and unwrapped a cloth, revealing one of Eren's teeth that had been knocked out earlier. "Neat, huh?"

"You picked it up? How disgusting." Levi commented with a grimace.

"This is a precious sample, I'll have you know." Hange stated in defence.

"Hey. Just be thankful people like _that_ aren't dissecting you." Levi said, looking at Eren from the corner of his eye.

"Don't you dare compare me with _them_. I would never even _dream_ of killing him." Hange remarked with obvious disgust, before her face brightened again and she gazed at Eren. "Hey, Eren, let me take a look inside that mouth of yours."

Eren hesitated for a second, but opened his mouth nonetheless.

Hange blinked, obviously taken aback by what she saw in Eren's mouth. Erwin and Mike even leaned in to see what had caused her reaction.

"Your tooth... it grew back."

"Really?" Without thinking, Ruby grabbed Eren and stretched the corners of his mouth, and saw the spot where Eren's tooth had been kicked out (literally), and there was another tooth in its place. "Wow, the healing process must have been pretty quick." she said, removing her fingers from the corners of Eren's mouth. He closed his mouth and rubbed his jaw.

"You don't sound surprised." Levi turned his head to her.

"Before he turned into a Titan at Trost, he'd lost an arm and a leg, and when we found him again, he'd grown them back." Ruby smiled as she spun halfway around to look at Levi. Then she turned to Pyrrha. "By the way, what's with those bags you brought with you?"

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" Pyrrha lifted two bag straps off each shoulder and the Team RWBY colour-coordinated backpacks were placed on the floor in front of Pyrrha. Pyrrha passed the crimson backpack to Ruby, then handed the white backpack to Weiss, and then passed the black backpack to Blake. "The yellow one is for Yang, and the one on my back is for me."

"Gods, these are heavy, even with Aura. How did you carry all four, plus your own?" Weiss heaved the backpack off the ground.

"I train to improve my strength and that of my Aura." Pyrrha gave a soft smile. "I would advise you and Ruby to train more, particularly in hand-to-hand combat. You can also do strength-building exercises."

A shiver travelled down the spines of both Ruby and Weiss, yet they couldn't argue against her. Blake was about average when it came to hand-to-hand combat, unlike Ruby who couldn't hit anything to save her life, and her Aura strength wasn't weak and she had a better chance of not going unconscious than Weiss did when hit with a heavy attack.

"Please teach us your ways." Ruby and Weiss said, looking at each other when they both realised they had done that with unintentional coordination.

Pyrrha's brows raised, and she smiled and laughed. "Sure! I thought you'd never ask!"

"Huh," Blake pulled out a mailing package from her backpack. "Wow, you really packed a lot in."

"We didn't know how much of your belongings you four would class as essentials, so we brought almost everything we thought you would need and want, along with what was advised we take for you." Pyrrha scratched the back of her head. "This included school uniforms and study material."

"Oh, thank the gods, we have sources of information." Weiss looked to the ceiling and gave a heavy sigh of relief.

"Speaking of which, did you manage to get permission for us to give classes to the Scouts?" Blake lifted her head, her eyes meeting Erwin's.

"I did, actually. I didn't manage to bring up the subject during the trial, but I managed to catch Premier Zachary afterwards to confirm if you girls could do so, per your request."

"That sounds grand. What do you girls plan to teach?" Pyrrha's eyes trailed to Blake.

"I was hoping that Weiss could give lessons on Dust, Ruby could teach the Scouts about weaponry and the Grimm, and I could teach them about the world of Remnant and its history. That would leave Yang to teach Aura and Semblance."

"I can help Yang with that."

* * *

 **Yang Xiao Long**

* * *

Yang shot up in her bed in a cold sweat, gripping the bedsheets for dear life until her knuckles were white.

Another nightmare.

She shook her head and ran a hand over her face. At this point, she was too scared to close her eyes, for fear of what she'd see. She only did so because sleep called her to do so.

"You look worse than I thought you would look after three days of recovery."

Yang stopped and her eyes widened, and she immediately lifted her head. She turned on the light on the bedside table to see...

"Reiner? Don't scare me like that. What are you doing here?" Yang narrowed her eyes to the cadet, his face and a portion of his upper body made visible by the small amount of light from the lamp on the table beside her.

"Blake asked Annie and I to stay with you for a while, since she, Ruby, and Weiss were going to Eren's trial. Annie left earlier to go and find some more food for you. I brought the lamp in here and just decided to stay with you in case you woke up."

"Oh. In that case, thanks. Blake isn't back yet?"

"Not yet, but Krista came in carrying a heavy yellow backpack, saying it was for you from a girl named Pyrrha. She left it in here and went back out to help Annie."

"Wait, Pyrrha's here too?" Yang's eyes widened, and she jumped out of her bed in the white nightgown she'd previously been given which trailed down to her ankles.

Reiner suddenly stood up so fast his chair fell backwards and Yang flinched at the clattering noise it made upon impact with the floor. He caught her when her legs failed her and she had to plant her hand on the bedside table.

"Take it easy, you're still not a hundred percent yet. If you move too fast, you'll get dizzy." he told her as he draped her arm over the back of his neck and laced an arm around her waist, holding her frail body up. "I hope Annie and Krista are back, you don't look like you've had any food since breakfast."

"I haven't even had breakfast. I lost my appetite yesterday during dinner."

"Well, in that case, we'll just have to get it back with Annie's cooking."

Yang smiled as her gaze trailed to Reiner.

It was nice to have someone looking out for her wellbeing again.


	12. Chapter 12 – A Lesson to Remember

**{1.} Alright, here are the shoutouts to the people who helped me come up with some Semblances for the characters. I made a slight alteration for the shoutouts, in that you'll get a shout out if you at least come up with the ideas or a concept behind them, but that doesn't mean they won't appear later. Besides, I'm always willing to come up with a sort of compromise.  
FullmetalDeadman93 – Gave me some concept ideas for Levi's Semblance(s). I was originally going to choose one or both of the two Semblances they suggested, but now that we know what Jaune's Semblance is {with volume 5 and all}, it has given me some more ideas about what would match with Levi's character and how he's grown from his past experiences. Still, it's possible that I may end up choosing one of the ideas anyway.  
Leonidas101 ****–** **We both had the same ideas on what Eren's Semblance would be, which will be shown in upcoming chapters.  
Both of them helped me with some ideas for Mikasa's Semblance, but I'm going to use the same Semblance choosing tactic as I'm using with Levi, so I'm still not sure about what to give Mikasa.**

 **{2.} I apologise in advance if you were waiting for Mikasa's Semblance to be revealed this chapter. It pains me to say this, but Mikasa is not the lucky soldier that gets to obtain their Semblance in this chapter. She'll get hers in chapter 13. I don't have anything against Mikasa, I'd just prefer it if she wasn't the first person to obtain their Semblance, since that is what people would expect.**

 **{3.} I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but I'll just say this: Krista Lenz is my favourite character in Attack on Titan. If you see any spotlight on Krista – before those arcs that focus on her** **–** **then just know that that's why.**

* * *

 **Blake Belladonna**

* * *

Blake couldn't help but hum the tune of a song she'd caught Weiss singing yesterday as she pulled off some weeds stuck to the walls of the castle. It wasn't everyday she wore a skirt that went down to her ankles, but hey, she didn't want to get any of her other clothes dirty. Or soaked, whilst Ruby and Weiss took turns manning a hose that was supposed to be washing down the walls of the castle.

The clothes Blake wore were relatively simplistic: a white button-up shirt with long sleeves folded up mid-forearm, the black ankle-length skirt draped over her legs, a pair of black socks, some flat brown boots, a purple scarf, and a white bandana on the crown of her head where her fringe started, for the most part covering up her cat ears that were folded down on her head. In one hand was a mop, and behind her was wooden wheelbarrow, to which she threw the weeds into.

"It's nice that Pyrrha brought some cleaning equipment with her," Blake turned her head to see Yang leaning against a doorway, holding a bowl full of boiled potatoes that Sasha had made for her that morning.

Blake lifted the mop with both hands, seeing some dirt that had accumulated on the wall over the years of it's abandonment. "Yeah. Her and the others really thought of everything. They probably knew we barely keep any of that around, and Weiss was no help either. She may have secured this place for us, but she barely made it clean enough to live in."

"I suppose that's to be expected, though. I mean, she is a Schnee. You'd expect her to have grown up with people like butlers and maids doing all the housework for her and her family, like making dinner or maintaining the residence." Yang shrugged and took a bite out of the potato, and then two more bites after that.

"I guess so. Weiss' parents probably didn't think they'd have to teach their kids how to maintain a comfortable living environment because they didn't think anyone would leave the family home like Weiss did." Blake scrubbed away at the dirt, seeing it dull and disappear bit by bit with every rough scrape of the mop soaked in cleaning detergents.

"What was your family life like, Blake?" Yang asked after she ate the rest of the potato. "You never really told me what life was like for you, before the White Fang, I mean."

"There really was no 'before' the White Fang. My dad was already the leader of the White Fang when I was born, back when it was just about discriminated and bullied Faunus protesting with signs in the streets, and it stayed like that a couple of years after I was born, too. Life got better for my family and I when our protests finally came through for us and we were given the island of Menagerie as a homeland for Faunus. My family and I moved there, and all was well until we realised that Menagerie was two-thirds desert with only a third of it being liveable enough to create the actual village most Faunus live in. Still, at least it was safe. And unlike with the White Fang, my father continues to live as the Chieftain of the village."

Yang's jaw dropped open. "Wait, so you're like... a _princess_?"

"No?" Blake stopped scrubbing and looked at the blonde with a raised brow. "My dad is the Chieftain, not the King of Menagerie."

"Still though, two-thirds desert or not, Menagerie's still a country, right? And your dad's still the only leader within it, even if it is just the village. Therefore, being the Chieftain would probably be the equivalent of being the King, wouldn't it? Which means that you may be the Faunus equivalent of Weiss, if not better."

Blake stared deadpan at her team partner, unable to think of a response.

"Who's the Faunus equivalent of Weiss?"

Blake and Yang both turned their heads to find Eren climbing off his horse along with Levi and some more members of the Scouts that the girls hadn't met yet. Yang smiled at Eren and Levi.

"Blake is." Yang grabbed a potato and lightly tossed it to Eren. The boy caught it, but the potato seemed to scold his hands, and he ended up tossing it between his fingers a few times before he finally balanced it between his fingers and thumbs, not allowing it to touch his palms.

"No one told us you guys would be staying here too." Blake lowered the mop and dipped it into the bucket, holding it there.

"Some of the higher-ups were debating where Eren could be kept for safety purposes. It took a while during the night, after you guys left. They only realised after about an hour that you guys were staying here, so the decision was made short-notice." Levi explained as he climbed down off of his horse, having to hop slightly from the saddle due to his short stature. Despite his issue with the length of his legs, he made his way over to Blake in two blinks of an eye, and ended up looking up at the wall beside her. "I thought Weiss already cleaned this place."

"At best, she only cleaned the room we're staying in. But even then, all she did was some dusting and hosing down." Blake lifted the mop out of the bucket and planted it on a windowsill a foot above her. She wiped off the grime and dirt from the concrete and glass, and even on the underside of the windowsill, but some of the water ended up falling and soaking the white bandana she wore. "Hey! Which one of you girls is supposed to be doing the windows?" she shouted, again lowering the mop into the bucket. She planted a hand on her hip.

Pyrrha opened the windows, her circlet headpiece nowhere in sight and replaced with a white bandana covering the top of her head. From what Blake could see, Pyrrha was wearing a brown tunic with a pale golden skirt, and over it a red cardigan shoved up at the elbows, with a white apron covering the front and hanging from her neck.

"Weiss was supposed to be doing them, I think! At least, that's what Ruby told me!" The redhead waved as she leant over the edge of the window. "By the way, do you have any paint? I can't help but feel the inside would look better if we coated the walls and gave it some décor!"

"Are there any storage cupboards?" Blake asked, moving the hand on her hip to the handle of the mop. "If there is, there might be something in there! It might take a while to paint the entire place, though!"

"I'll do that! Thank you!" Pyrrha smiled and waved again, shutting the windows and moving out of sight.

"You know, you'd think some of us have never helped their parents out around the house." Yang said before she took a bite out of another potato.

"And you," Blake turned her head and raised her hand, and with a quirk of her index finger, pointed at Yang. "You have been no help. You've recovered, you're up and about, you have your appetite back, and you have been eating nonstop since last night, so all things considered, you should be well enough to help out around here."

"Huh?!" Yang's eyes widened, and she stepped away from the wall.

"Get an apron on, tie your hair up, and start cleaning the windows." Blake demanded, ripping her bandana off her head and tossing it at Yang. A soft breeze hit Blake's cat ears. She reached down her shirt and into her vest underneath, pulling out her ribbon she'd previously used to create her signature bow, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail and fastened it up with the ribbon, making a bow as she tied it. "There's some buckets on the tables near the kitchen, and Pyrrha left her cleaning detergents on the counter beside the sink. Get going, before I get Ruby to tell you the same."

"Alright, alright," Yang picked up the bandana off her chest, and held it between her finger and thumb. "Where do I put these potatoes?"

"Leave them with Sasha. The others will probably want some, if you're done with them."

"The others?" Eren tilted his head.

"Some of the cadets decided to visit Yang to see if she was getting any better, and we let them stay for a while. Annie, Sasha, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Reiner, and Connie are in there... somewhere." Blake shrugged her shoulders as her hands found the mop again. She turned to Yang and nodded her head at the wall, watching as the blonde sighed and nodded at her, spinning on her heel and proceeding back into the building.

Jean and Reiner appeared in the doorway afterwards, having come from the same way Yang was going.

"Hey, Blake. Mikasa decided to help Ruby set up the rooms you girls will be using for the most part, and Armin's gone to teach Weiss the proper protocol for cleaning a place to make it liveable. Is there anything we can help with?" Reiner asked her, giving Blake a serious vibe of responsibility.

Blake nodded and smiled. "Actually, I'm glad you asked. Jean, you don't mind pulling up some of the weeds that have grown over the years, do you?"

"U-Uh, no, no I don't mind!" Jean waved his hands up in front of him in assurance, and jogged over to the wheelbarrow.

"Thanks. There was a lot that have grown around the stables and the walls around there, if you need a place to start. When the wheelbarrow's full, just see if you can find a dispenser or some place to tip it in and get rid of it, and keep going if there's any weeds you missed."

"Will do!"

"And Reiner," Blake pivoted back toward Reiner, "I've told Yang to help out by cleaning the windows. If you're looking for a job to help with, you can help Yang out and half the amount of work she has to do."

"I'm on it!" Reiner nodded eagerly and jogged back inside the castle.

"Looks like you have it all under control." Levi commented with raised brows, and Blake didn't think she'd ever seen the man so surprised. He folded his arms across his chest and slightly looked up at her. "There anything you need us to do?"

"Actually, if you have your gear, you'll be able to help out for the higher areas." Blake set the handle of the mop again the wall. "Eren, you can help Ruby and Mikasa set up the rooms."

Eren's shoulders hunched and he tensed up, but smiled and nodded eagerly. "I'll get right to it!" he said as he ran through the doors and disappeared into the castle.

"You two," Blake pointed her index and middle fingers at a small woman with honey-blonde hair, and a tall man holding his bleeding tongue, "you can use your gear to get yourself up there and clean the walls. Cleaning supplies are on the counter in the kitchen, as well as some water and paper towels for your tongue, whatever happened to it."

"Yes, ma'am!" The woman hopped off her horse and pulled the man off his, before dragging him into the building.

"You guys," Blake aimed her index and middle fingers at a man with dull blond hair tied up in a bun, and another man with dark brown hair and slightly tanned skin, "can help those other two by clearing the weeds and other overgrown plants off the areas they're cleaning."

"We're on it." both men said simultaneously and nodded their heads after getting off their horses. Unlike the others, who seemed to be in a rush, they calmly entered through the doorway and disappeared into the building.

"And what would you like to do?" Blake placed her hands on her hips as she turned back to Levi.

"I'll clean the rooms on the higher levels, where my team is. That way, more work will get done and we'll shave off some time."

"You know where the cleaning supplies are, Captain, so get going. We have all day; just not all night."

* * *

 **Yang Xiao Long**

* * *

"Alright, so since you're all already here anyway, we're just gonna start you off with a lesson on the basics."

"Now, this lesson is going to be about two things in which you probably aren't familiar: Aura, and Semblance. These are two very important concepts that we fight with, and it wouldn't be out of the question to say they help us to survive when the fight gets a bit tough. If it helps, take notes of what we say, as it could help you during future training exercises when you'll be asked to put your skills to the test." Pyrrha advised, flattening the skirt that came with the Beacon uniform when she sat on the front of the desk. "The training isn't as pressuring as it may sound, in all honestly. The training exercises we planned for you aren't that difficult. Well, they shouldn't be, but you're all capable people, as Team RWBY tells me. Anyone can learn how to use Aura and Semblance, given enough practice." she quickly assured everyone, waving her hands slowly and reassuringly. "By the way, if you have any inquiries during the lesson about what we teach you, feel free to raise your hand and ask them."

"Alright, now that that's cleared up, I guess I can start by explaining Aura." Yang spun on her heel and walked toward the black board. Picking up a chalk, she drew the outline of a human, and then beside the human, she drew the outline of a Faunus beside it. She wrote ' **FAUNUS** ' above the outline of the Faunus, and the outline had cat ears. Of course, the word ' **HUMAN** ' was written above the outline of the human.

In the centre of each outline, Yang drew a wavy circle with what appeared to be flames rising from the top half of it. Yang labelled it as the soul.

Yang spun around to face the class, flashing a smile as she said, "Aura is the manifestation of the soul, and is the term given to the innate power that those with a soul possess. It is a powerful ally in battle, and is required to trigger the use of Dust, which I'm sure a lucky few of you have witnessed Weiss use in combat."

"Creatures that have souls, by extension, have Auras. Some creatures, such as humans and Faunus alike, are able to use their Aura to enhance their strength, endurance, agility, dexterity, and even constitution. Weapons and armour can also act as conduits for a person's Aura, which allows for a wider range of offensive and defensive capabilities." Pyrrha continued on with a smile. "However, Ruby will be the one to teach you about how to handle weapons." She added.

Then, Jean raised his hand. Yang nodded her head at him, motioning for him to speak. "What does Aura look like?" he asked as he lowered his hand.

"Because Aura is the manifestation of the soul, it can appear differently depending on who is using it. The colour or element of an Aura differs with each individual. However, it isn't uncommon for a person's Aura to be the same colour or element as someone else's." Pyrrha answered, laying one hand on her skirt and covering the back of her hand with the palm of the other. "For example, both Ruby and I have a red coloured Aura. Weiss, Yang, and Blake may end up sharing the same colour or element of their Aura with one of you."

"In other words, Aura is able to manifest in different ways when in use, taking on the colour, and in some cases, the element, of someone's inner energy." Yang clarified. The blonde was drawing coloured Aura patterns around the human and the Faunus outlines. From Pyrrha's expression, it was apparent she had noticed that Yang was using herself and Blake as examples of Aura.

Mikasa then raised her hand. "How is Aura unlocked or activated, so to speak?"

"To unlock or activate your Aura on your own requires training and, most of all, willpower. However, someone who has done considerable training with their own Aura can unlock the Aura of another person. In fact, some people may prefer to have their Aura unlocked by another individual instead of having to spend time training in order to activate it themselves." Yang replied, perching herself on the front of the desk. "A lot of parents, specifically in the huntsman line of work, often unlock their child's Aura in order to carry on protecting them when they're not around. And a lot of Faunus have their Auras unlocked at a young age – despite being from civilian families – due to the bullying and discrimination they suffer."

"However, unlocking someone's Aura has an effect on the person unlocking it." Pyrrha raised her finger. "Some examples include momentary fatigue, weakness in the legs, and uncontrollable bladder. The list goes on, but I think you get the point."

"And that's about it for Aura. Are there any more questions?" Yang asked, her gaze wandering the room, searching for anyone who had any more questions. Everyone sat in silence. Yang nodded at Pyrrha. "Alright, since no-one has any more questions, let's start with Semblances."

"Semblance is the manifestation of one's personal power as an ability often unique to each individual. It is the projection of one's Aura in a more tangible form, and the will of your soul manifested onto the environment. With Semblance, you can manipulate certain physical phenomena according to the nature of your power. A person's Semblance can represent an aspect of their character or your personality can be a result of discovering your Semblance. That being said, some do end up with the same Semblances, and a Semblance can run in the family, though that is quite rare. For example, Ruby's Speed Semblance is a rather common Semblance, usually found in people with a bubbly or hyperactive personality, and Weiss' Glyph Semblance is hereditary – essentially, in runs in the Schnee family bloodline." Pyrrha explained, her eyes scouring the room. "To make things simpler, you could say that Semblance is what makes the term 'willpower' take on a more literal meaning." she added, and there was a round of _Oh_ s that passed around the class.

"It's also worth noting that after a person's Aura is unlocked, they can discover their Semblance afterwards. The girls and I can unlock the Aura of one person each, but we can't go round all of you. The ones we unlock the Aura of will need to memorise what the feeling of having your Aura unlocked feels like, and using that, we need you to unlock the Aura of someone else in this class, and then that person will do the same until you've all had your Auras unlocked. We know you won't have had any training in the use of Aura, and it is a bit sudden to ask of you, but we can't get through you all at the same time because of the effect it has on _us_." Yang spun around and folded her arms.

"A similar thing applies with Semblance. If you do find your Semblance during this month we have, make sure you get the chance to review it and memorise the feeling of it, as it is important that you know what your Semblance feels like after you first discover it. Doing that could also help you learn to control your Semblance as well." Pyrrha advised. She breathed out, sparing a few glances at Yang, before looking around the room, trying to find anyone that had any questions. "Does anyone have anything to ask now?"

Mikasa raised her hand this time. "Is it possible for someone to have a Semblance that revolves around the use of a specific material, such as Dust?"

"While it is indeed possible, having a Semblance like that is dependent on a person's character or soul, unlike hereditary Semblances. However," Pyrrha responded, raising her hand and letting her palm glow the same colour of her skin, and in an instant, her shield (that had been laid on the wall underneath the board) was lifted into the air and moved through the air beside her, spinning slowly. Pyrrha smiled and looked to her shield, "those Semblances do exist. My Semblance is Polarity, meaning I can control magnetism, or manipulate metal that can be affected by magnetic forces. Since I discovered my Semblance, I have trained this magnetism to control _any_ metal, including the metals that _aren't_ affected by magnetic forces."

"I also know that it is possible to have a Semblance that allows the user to manipulate Dust. It's quite a boring Semblance on its own, but you can use different Dust types as a conduit to make it look more impressive than it is. An example would include using Volcanic Dust as a conduit to create glass."

Then, Reiner raised his hand. "Can stress affect the use of Semblance?"

"Yes." Yang said and nodded her head. "But stress isn't the only thing that affects the use of Semblance. Emotions can also play a role in affecting the use of Semblance as well. For example, my own Semblance can become more powerful when I'm fuelled by rage or anger. If someone is stressed or facing emotional turmoil, then that person's Semblance can be out of control like mine was at Trost, or in some cases, a person's Semblance can be weakened."

"Overuse of a Semblance for a prolonged period of time is also not a great idea, as it can affect the user, at least in the short term. The overuse of Semblance can cause the user to tire out, and can momentarily weaken the Semblance along with that person, and in some cases, their Aura too." Pyrrha concluded, catching her shield after she released it from its suspension.

Everyone took a moment to divulge the information, while Yang's gaze wandered over the seemingly uncomfortable students. Yang was terrified that they may have scared some of the cadets with talking about the cons of using Semblance. Pyrrha was scratching the back of her head.

"Uh, how about I unlock someone's Aura?" Pyrrha asked, placing both hands on the edge of the desk and gripping it. "Are there any volunteers that want to have their Aura unlocked?"

Armin and Mikasa were the first to raise their hands, which prompted Yang to motion for them to come up to the front; and despite any nagging concerns that both Yang and Pyrrha were sure they had, they stepped up to the front of the class. Mikasa stood beside Pyrrha, electing herself to be the first in the class to have her Aura unlocked.

Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on Mikasa's shoulder, her breathing becoming steady as she stared into Mikasa's steely grey eyes, which appeared to be as expressionless as ever. Without so much as speaking a word, Pyrrha's body began to envelop in a red glow, and a brief moment later, Mikasa's body was encased in a smoky, steely silver glow that would have matched Ruby's eyes. Pyrrha soon removed her hand from Mikasa's shoulder, and proceeded to watch as Mikasa gazed down at her glowing hands with widened eyes.

"There. I have unlocked your Aura. Remember the feeling, and drill it into your memory." Pyrrha told her, and though Yang could hear the strain in her voice from the momentary fatigue, she realised Pyrrha had softened her tone as if she had been speaking to Jaune. Mikasa clenched her fists, before opening them again. The glow disappeared, causing Mikasa to ball up her fists again, and as expected, the glow returned.

"Mikasa," Yang called out to the girl, and her head snapped up, her eyes meeting Yang's as her glow disappeared. Yang pointed to Armin. "Now that you have your Aura unlocked and know the feeling of it, try unlocking Armin's."

Mikasa nodded without a word and pivoted to face Armin. She gently planted both hands on his shoulders and appeared to steady her breathing like Pyrrha had done, while closing her eyes. The silver glow that had enveloped her earlier came back with a strong vibrancy and when it came into contact with Armin, his body glowed a cute baby blue colour that shone like the sky on a sunny day without clouds.

Mikasa opened her eyes and stepped back, allowing Armin room to see the glow that enveloped him and keep it visible with the soft clenching of his fists for five blinks of an eye, before he finally relaxed his muscles and his Aura faded, and it was then that Yang had realised that his eyes had been shining a stronger and lighter blue, sparkling along with the glow of his Aura.

"Good." Yang nodded her head. "Armin, you and Erwin are being taught the knowledge and usage of Dust by Weiss, right?"

"Uh, y-yes," Armin gave a polite smile and nodded his head, standing awkwardly, as if he wanted to leave.

"Now that you have your Aura unlocked, you'll be able to use the Dust she's teaching you about. Go and see her and tell her I told you to practice with the four primary types of Dust she found in the mines. She's set up outside the castle, somewhere, and is busy combining the primary types of Dust at the moment, so you may or may not have to wait unless she asks you to help out." Yang stepped away from the board and went to open the door, Armin following behind her. When she opened the door, she stepped aside and turned halfway to face him. "Also, don't forget to let Erwin know that you've had your Aura unlocked and have been practicing with the Dust. Go and see him when Weiss says the day's over."

"O-Okay! I will!" Armin nodded, twice, and awkwardly left the room with a self-conscious walk that gave Yang the vibe that he was trying too hard to be calm.

"Mikasa, I have something for you as well," Yang shrugged, "or, at least Ruby has. She asked me to send you to her after you'd had your Aura unlocked. She needs your help with some prototypes she's made for the ODM Gear, and how well _you_ would be able to use it with its improvements. She should be outside making some adjustments to her sketches and ideas." Yang raised her hand and with a quirk of her thumb, she pointed over her shoulder, her other hand on her hip.

"Last time I heard, I think she's making specialised gear for certain people and their skills. I believes she's made concept sketches for Eren and Captain Levi's gear as well." Pyrrha straightened her back and craned her neck in order to look over Mikasa's shoulder.

Upon hearing that, Mikasa braved a sweet smile and nodded her head, giving a slight bow. "I won't let her down." she vowed, before setting off in a jog as she left the room.

Yang closed the door behind Mikasa and observed the rest of the group. She had forgotten that Levi's squad was here.

"Alright, so who's next?"

* * *

 **Krista Lenz**

* * *

Krista sprinted through a large forest overlooking the pathway to the old castle, the former Scout Regiment Headquarters. She was a small girl – the smallest of the cadets, standing at 4'8" or 4'9" inches, since she hadn't really checked if she'd grown recently – in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by large and tall trees that covered a rather wide surface area, combined with thick brush that almost anything or anyone could hide in.

The training exercise she was doing now had been pushed to today. Just half an hour ago Krista and the other soldiers had been sitting in a classroom in the castle, where the Special Operations Squad – otherwise known as the Levi Squad – were now keeping Eren under surveillance, and the five new girls were staying anyway, and the group were taken out here and given scarves and fifteen minutes of preparation for the training exercise. Pyrrha and Yang were running it, but with Blake nowhere in sight at all today, Krista had to wonder if Blake was secretly taking part, waiting for an opportune time to strike and see what the person she ambushed had to fight with up their sleeves.

Speaking of Pyrrha and Blake, Krista herself had been in awe last night, when Blake had introduced her to Pyrrha, another newcomer to this world from Remnant. She was so tall, so beautiful, and looked so mighty and strong, and the muscles on her upper arms were a bit bigger than Mikasa's, and she had such a beautiful figure too. Krista had adored the girl's selfless personality and kind-hearted character, and she couldn't help but feel as if Ymir had been jealous of Pyrrha when Krista had introduced her to the redhead.

Today was also the day that she had to choose her career, and she already had it in her mind to go and join the Scouts. She was doing it for a reason that she couldn't quite remember, but she had been telling herself that she wanted to help people, sacrificing herself for the safety of someone more important, if need be. She wasn't sure whether she had _really_ wanted to join the Scout Regiment, though, but it beat the MPs and to be honest, she couldn't commit sacrifices in the Garrison Regiment, no matter how enticing the two roses on the badge looked. Besides, she knew Ymir would be there with her when she joined anyway, since the two were inseparable.

According to what Yang had told the group of Scouts earlier, before the exercise had begun, they had one month to prepare for the upcoming expedition outside Wall Rose. Apparently, the soldiers were given a single month to recuperate from the recent events that tragically transpired, and to get the recruits familiar with the strategy that Commander Erwin and Weiss were working on together.

During the fifteen minutes preparation beforehand, Krista had asked gone to Ruby for some clarification on Aura and Semblance, and while she told the girl that she understood what they were telling her, she had to specify if Ruby had any analogies or anything that helped her when she was training to be a huntress. Whilst there, Mikasa, who had been trying on an improved version of their ODM Gear designed by Ruby herself, complained that Commander Erwin could have and should have agreed on more time, maybe two or three more months, at least, to have a better chance for more people to find their Semblances and thus more would survive the expedition. Krista knew Mikasa was right, and she agreed that one month wasn't enough time to get many of the soldiers to learn how to fight like the five girls did, but still told Mikasa that at least it got them started and perhaps they would achieve the task of finding their Semblances faster.

However, whether it was one month or more didn't matter, as that still wouldn't be enough time to teach the newcomers how to use the ODM Gear. Krista thought it was only logical that they opted for the more productive and effective training, since learning how to use Aura and Semblance, and even Dust, would no doubt help them in the long run.

Krista shook her head, trying to regain her focus on the task at hand. She stopped running and skidded to a halt. Bending her knees, Krista shifted a portion of her Aura to her feet, and with the power, she leapt high into the air. She stretched her arm up above her head, reaching for a branch that was about five meters above where she had jumped from. After one hand made contact with the branch, Krista used her other hand to grip the wood as well, and she used the strength in her arms to pull herself up, her nails digging into the bark.

She rested her back against the tree trunk once both of her feet were on the branch. It became apparent to her that she would need to improve her manoeuvring abilities, to prepare for if there was ever a situation where she didn't have her gear and needed to fight with just her body, like right now. She didn't have her ODM Gear to aid her in this training exercise. She needed to get used to the feeling of manoeuvring her own body without the stiffness of the ODM Gear, and feel as flexible and free as she assumed the girls felt, and she needed to do it fast.

Aiming her sights on a taller branch of the tree in front of her, Krista then began sprinting to the edge of the her own branch, and shifted her Aura to her feet at the last second, allowing her to jump up to the branch she was aiming for. The part of the branch she had jumped from then snapped, though she never lost focus on the one that her hands had just reached.

It appeared that although Aura enhanced certain physical capabilities of a person, such as her agility and dexterity, it was unable to compensate for the amount of built up pressure with the distribution of it, but the momentum she gained while distributing it to parts of her body was still unaccounted for.

The mission of the activity was simple: find either Pyrrha or Yang (and possibly Blake) in the forest, and defeat them in hand-to-hand combat. Each of the Scouts carried a white scarf, and the girls carried a red scarf each. Krista's scarf was tied around her neck, though she could have had it anywhere on her so long as it was still visible. If the scarf was taken, the owner of the scarf would have to report back to the camp, where Commander Pixis would be waiting with Captain Rico to document the results. When they reported back to the camp, they would be eliminated from the exercise. It was the same for Yang and Pyrrha, and possibly Blake if she was included; if they had their red scarves taken, or if every soldier had been defeated and had their white scarves taken, they would blow a whistle to indicate the activity's termination.

There were no rules to say that the soldiers couldn't gang up on any of the females, so it seemed kind of unfair – at least in Krista's mind – that the soldiers were all trying to hunt down females with no rules to say that you had to be on your own. But then again, Yang and Pyrrha had appeared to be confident that they would win the activity. Krista had a feeling that it didn't matter to them how many people they had to fight; they could all handle multiple opponents. Being outnumbered probably was not a big deal to them.

With Armin practicing the use of Dust with Weiss, and Mikasa helping Ruby on the mechanical side of things, there were only a select number of soldiers left that Krista could have the possibility of finding: Eren, Annie, Captain Levi, the four soldiers that had been handpicked to join his squad, Jean, Connie, Sasha, and Reiner.

Swinging her body to and fro, Krista flipped her body up, with her knees landing on the branch. She rose to her feet immediately, as if she felt accomplished with the fact that she was finally getting somewhere with her manoeuvres. Krista observed her surroundings, training her senses – specifically her eyesight and hearing – to be alert, should she see or hear anyone or anything, any slight movement or noise.

The bushes surrounding the trees rustled. Krista's attention snapped towards the bushes, and she saw Blake with her arm outstretched with a smile as she advanced through the air up to where Krista herself was. It was clear she had leapt up from the bushes below, hence the rustling. Krista automatically leapt backwards to dodge Blake's sudden attempt to grab the white scarf around her neck.

The petite blonde rotated her body around while she was in the air, hastily searching for a tree branch that would prove useful in helping her to get into the treetops in order to hide. However, all she found was a tree trunk a few feet away from her. She performed a somersault and guided herself towards the tree trunk, watching as her feet landed on it, causing slight cracks to appear in the wood underneath the soles of her boots. Krista then swiftly swerved to the left, swinging her legs until her toes were pointed towards the ground, and her nails dug into the bark. Using the position to her advantage, Krista transferred her Aura to her feet and leapt again, aiming for the branch ahead of her.

She reached her hands out and grabbed the tree branch she aimed for, but the branch quickly snapped off the tree, detaching itself from the trunk. Krista had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming as she fell to the ground below. Krista landed on her back with a thud and a crack and a groan. The soft sensation of pain spread across her back, but her Aura had absorbed the impact, preventing her back from being damaged. Still, though, she couldn't help but feel slightly winded.

Placing the palms of her hands on the ground above her head, Krista threw her legs up and jumped to her feet, letting out a soft grunt as she did so. Her head swivelled and her eyes scoured everything in the directions her head turned. Blake was nowhere in sight; probably hiding again, Krista assumed. Her best chance was to run, and find a good place to hide until she found another soldier to possibly team up with. For now, it was safe to assume that Krista's gut feeling had been correct. Blake was a part of the exercise.

Twirling on her heel, Krista bolted through the forest, trying to escape the place where she had encountered Blake. As she ran, she heard the loud grunt and shout of another soldier, no doubt a man, judging by the gruff voice. If she had to guess, the voice was Reiner's. Skidding to a halt, Krista's muscles tensed and she glanced around the area, searching for where Reiner could be.

Bending her knees, Krista shifted her Aura to her feet again, and launched herself high into the air. Her hands made contact with a thick branch that seemed to be relatively sturdy. It was enough to hold her weight. Wrapping her arms around the branch, Krista used all of the strength her small body had to pull herself up onto it. Throwing one leg over it, she sat upright on the branch, with her hands planted on the wood so she could steady herself. She pulled one leg up and carefully set her foot down on the branch, and then did the same with her other leg. Removing her hands from their place on the branch, Krista regained her balance, and managed to stand upright again, and steady.

Then, another loud grunt came from Reiner, along with the sound of a punch being thrown. Krista knew that the noise originated from the left of her, and judging by the volume, she took an educated guess and presumed he was close by. Krista turned to her left and leapt from the branch, altering her aim to the right in hopes of being able to kick herself from each tree trunk.

Once she planted her feet on the tree trunk, Krista transferred her Aura to her feet and her lower legs, and using one foot only, Krista kicked herself off of the tree, landing her other foot on the tree that was slightly to the left. She repeated the process on the next tree that was to the right of her, and she hopped down from the trees, landing with a roll as she sprinted into a clearing, where Reiner was laid flat on his back. Across the clearing was another pathway, where Annie was sprinting from, and upon seeing each other, Krista and Annie dug their heels into the dirt, skidding and grinding to a halt in just enough time to stop themselves from colliding into each other.

Annie and Krista both looked up and stared at each other for a moment, and pulled their legs back, straightening their postures. They both swung their arms, their hands clapping together and fingers grabbing at the other's hand. After shaking each other's hand and nodding their heads at one another to show their silent alliance, they both let go and pivoted, their backs coming into contact with one another as Annie tried to talk to Reiner.

"Reiner; which one did you see?" Annie called out to him as she and Krista balled their fists and raised their fists, placing one foot forward. This was Annie's signature fighting stance, which Eren learnt from Annie when they were training in hand-to-hand combat. Krista felt reassured that she had found Annie, as the girl placed first in hand-to-hand combat, Eren coming second due to Annie teaching him most, if not all, of what she knew.

"I think... it was Pyrrha? All I saw was red hair and then I was thrown over someone's head." Reiner said, groaning when he crawled onto his front side, supporting himself on the palms of his hands. He lifted pushed himself off the ground and smiled, showing off his white scarf, which he had stuffed down his sleeve, with the corner of it in his palm. "Not against the rules."

"Nice thinking. I wish I'd thought of that." Krista gave him a closed-eyes smile for a mere two seconds and turned back in just enough time to see Pyrrha reaching for the white scarf around her neck, fast. Krista grabbed Annie by the shoulder and spun the girl around, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down to duck. She felt Pyrrha's hands on her back and saw Pyrrha somersaulting over her and Annie and landing. The redhead had to dig her heels into the ground to stop.

Annie was the first to stand up, pulling Krista up by the arm. "Thanks."

Krista gave the other blonde an uneasy nod of her head, and receded back into a fighting stance.

Pyrrha set off in a sprint towards Krista and Annie, with one of her feet skidding across the ground. She raised her leg up and swung it in a horizontal motion, aiming to hit either girl in the side of her abdomen. Annie immediately lifted her opposite leg to counter Pyrrha's kick. Annie's knee connected with Pyrrha's lower leg, with Pyrrha's foot just inches away from her face. Annie bent her knee, planting her foot on Pyrrha's shin. Launching herself off of Pyrrha's leg, Annie somersaulted in the air, with the force of Annie's leap sending Pyrrha's leg back down and her foot slamming onto the dirt. Annie directed a diving kick at Pyrrha.

Annie's attack didn't hit Pyrrha. Pyrrha performed a backflip to dodge Annie's kick and Annie landed firmly on both feet.

Krista pushed Annie aside and sprinted toward Pyrrha, using her Aura to gain speed and momentum. Balling a fist and pulling her arm back, Krista planted the soles of her boots down and slid across the dirt with incredible speed. She threw her fist out towards Pyrrha, only for the girl to catch her by her wrist with one hand and make a reach for her scarf.

Krista grabbed Pyrrha's other hand and pushed the girl's arm with her own, despite being over a foot shorter, weaker, and naturally at a disadvantage. Pyrrha's hold on her wrist seemed to slip, and used the opportunity to perform a backflip, in hopes of gaining distance. When Krista landed firmly on her feet a few yards from where Pyrrha stood, she thought about what the redhead herself had told the group earlier, when they were in class, being taught the properties of Aura and Semblance by only Yang and Pyrrha.

 _"You could say that Semblance is what makes the term 'willpower' take on a more literal meaning."_

 _'Twist the world's laws until they act to your will.'_ Krista revised in her head the words that had come from Ruby during the 15 minutes of preparation beforehand. Pyrrha swiftly approached Krista after blocking another one of Annie's kicks and throwing the girl over her head. Krista's fist made contact with the palm of Pyrrha's open hand, affectively stopping her from reaching for her scarf. Crossing her free arm over the one she was currently stretching out, Krista gripped the sleeve of Pyrrha's uniform blazer.

With the enhanced strength of her Aura, Krista spun herself around with the aim of making Pyrrha dizzy by spinning her around repeatedly. After twirling around five or six times, Krista let go of Pyrrha and heaved the taller girl over her shoulder with what strength she had. The action sent Pyrrha flying into a tree. Unfortunately for Krista, Pyrrha didn't seem to be affected, and she didn't look as if she had been dizzy when she somersaulted backwards and the soles of her shoes hit the trunk of the tree, steady and ready to pounce.

Krista narrowed her eyes as Pyrrha leapt from the trunk, lifting her leg up high (seemingly regardless of the fact she was wearing only a skirt and tights) to attack Krista from above. Krista evaded Pyrrha's kick by leaping backwards, and for a brief moment, Krista felt like she could fly. If only she could...

 _"As long as you believe it is possible, you will discover your Semblance."_ Ruby's words ran through Krista's mind as she rolled backwards, gaining some more distance between them. Krista raised her head to find that Pyrrha's kick had created a crater similar in size to what a Titan would create if it fell down hard.

Krista rose to her feet and stood up straight, taking a deep breath to calm herself and control her thoughts. As Krista had gained a brief opportunity to begin to think straight, Pyrrha also hesitated to move, and instead narrowed her eyes at Krista, no doubt curious as to what she was doing. Then, Pyrrha bent her knees and began to resume her charge towards Krista.

Krista focused all of her attention on her Aura, feeling a sudden wave of power coursing through her body. She felt as if everything happening around her had been slowed, as if the world was _waiting_ for her to do something. Krista's breath hitched, and her body tingled, but the most prominent of the signs was her back muscles tightening.

 _"Believe, and it will be so."_ Ruby's voice conquered her thoughts.

And despite all of the questions she withheld in her head and heart, Krista believed.

A pair of white translucent wings protruded from Krista's back muscles and shoulder blades in a bright flash of light, fluttering as they lifted Krista off the ground. The wings flapped forward to create a strong gust of wind that caused Pyrrha, Annie, and Reiner to cross their arms in front of their faces in order to protect themselves. Krista twirled around and flapped her wings again, flying up into the air. She travelled upwards with such incredible speed that her hair flew in all almost all directions and she could feel the wind smacking her face and causing her eyes to water. She was nearing the treetops until one of her wings collided with a thin branch, causing her apparent angel wings to flicker and grow smaller, before disappearing into a mixture of white floral patterns that seemed to absorb into her back.

Krista threw herself into the dense foliage of the tree beside the one her wing hit. Her back hit the trunk, though she was fortunate enough to have a thick branch under her to settle on. The leaves around her rustled as she kneeled on the branch, sitting upright as the rush from discovering her own Semblance was still prominent in the way she shivered and breathed.

Krista could only revel in wondrous shock at what she had done when she managed to find a moment to think clearly. She attempted to understand what had just happened; to her especially.

For the first time ever, she had been able to manoeuvre in three dimensions on her own, without the aid of her ODM Gear. She was probably the first person in this world that had achieved flight, if some other soldier hadn't also managed to find their Semblance and ended up being at least similar or the same to her own.

However, the excitement of first activating her Semblance was quickly overcome by the feeling of dread, as she realised that she was still in the middle of her fight with Pyrrha, and had effectively just abandoned Annie and Reiner, leaving them at the redhead's mercy. Krista was hidden in the treetops, which had given her an opportunity to review her Semblance and reflect on how she had gotten it to activate for the first time, but then again, her choice of where to escape to was also like a glass cannon. The foliage that surrounded her was also obscuring her view, blocking her visibility above, below, and all around; sight was rendered useless in a place like this, as was hearing, because of the rustling of the leaves that hid her.

Krista knew that Pyrrha could never have anticipated her sudden take-off into the trees, which meant that Pyrrha had as much of an idea about where Krista was as Krista did about where Pyrrha was. Krista wasn't in the open, but she certainly could've chosen a much better place to retreat to, considering that she wasn't able to do much of anything if she didn't know where Pyrrha was.

As she was instructed in class two days prior to today, Krista reviewed the feeling of having her Semblance activated for the first time. Her back muscles twitched when her hand traced her shoulder blades and the muscles around them, feeling as that had been where her wings sprouted from. Her wings seemed to respond to her thoughts and feelings, it seemed, though it was clear her back muscles were what directed the wings.

The only thing in Krista's mind at the time it happened was one command: _Fly_.

Krista theorised that thinking about what her Semblance could do in better detail, she could learn to control it better; maybe even master it before the month was over. The exercises seemed to be reckless in a sense, but then again, it had been apparent during the battle of Trost that so were some of the girls that taught them. Krista was happy for that; reckless as it all seemed to be, the things they taught the soldiers would prove useful on the upcoming expedition. Krista knew better than to bet on something she didn't know in a fight for survival, and a fight for survival sometimes demanded recklessness in order to live another day.

She concentrated on shifting her Aura to her legs and feet as she slid off of the branch and dropped out of the foliage. After her foot made contact with the trunk of a tree, Krista began leaping between branches to slow her fall into the clearing. Diving from a branch just meters above the ground, Krista flexed her Semblance by arranging her thoughts into commands.

White wings sprouted from her shoulder blades again, straightening themselves out majestically as they acted like a parachute, slowing her descent and providing her with a smooth landing as she used her back muscles to direct herself over to Reiner. She hovered beside him as gazed up at her with widened eyes.

"Krista...?" Reiner's voice was barely above a whisper Krista looked towards Annie, and then at Pyrrha. Feeling her back muscles starting to constrict slightly, Krista allowed her majestic angel wings to absorb back into her muscles and shoulder blades and landed securely on the ground beside Reiner. When she looked back at Pyrrha, the redhead was nowhere to be seen.

Krista's first instinct was to look up, anticipating a strike from above. Sure enough, Pyrrha had her leg outstretched, aiming for a diving kick directed to the narrow gap in-between Krista and Reiner. She hadn't had any control over her wings when she launched from the ground and dragged Reiner away with her a few feet, landing on the ground with him before she hopped off. Krista rolled out of the way a few extra feet just as Pyrrha's foot stomped down on the ground where Krista and Reiner had stood only moments before.

Upon swiftly recovering from Pyrrha's attack, Krista countered with one of her own: her own take on the infamous kick that Annie had taught Eren during their time as cadets.

Krista used her Aura to generate enough speed to move faster than the eye could see for a split second, advancing towards Pyrrha. The redhead's eyes widened as the smallest blonde instantly planted her hands on the ground and lifted her legs to about knee-height. Krista balanced on her fingertips and twirled her hand, spinning herself around. Krista's foot connected with the back of Pyrrha's knees, knocking the girl off balance for a moment.

Krista's wings sprouted from her back again in a blaze of white and flapped forward with such ferocity that the gust of wind it created was enough to knock Pyrrha back. Because she had lost her balance and had been in the air when Krista performed the attack with her Semblance, Pyrrha had ended up rolling away, several yards back from where Reiner was.

Her angel wings stayed extended as they gave her a burst of speed, allowing her to suddenly appear in front of Pyrrha. Krista instantly made a grab for the red scarf around Pyrrha's neck. Pyrrha barely had any time to react when Krista's hand made contact with the fabric and she pulled it over her head with complete ease. Krista flew up in celebration, holding Pyrrha's scarf above her head as if it was a trophy.

"I got it! I got the scarf!"

With a bright smile, Krista slowly hovered back down and let the soles of her boots rest on the dirt.

"Well I'll be damned..." Annie barely managed to breathe out.

"Krista?" Reiner piped up, steadily lifting himself to his feet. He blinked rapidly whilst Krista's wings fluttered and disappeared. He tilted his head, looking extremely puzzled. "Did you just... fly?"

"Yes, she did." Pyrrha answered for her in a rather congratulatory tone, not bothered at all by the fact that she'd lost. It was at that point that Krista felt a surge of pride wash over her.

Krista tried to produce her wings again. Her wings didn't appear on her back, and she clutched at her shoulder blades. She could feel the shallow pain of her strained muscles. Maybe she'd not gotten used to her Semblance, and therefore didn't have enough endurance to last long?

"I think I may need to work on my Semblance's durability." Krista informed them, gazing up at Pyrrha with soft-hearted expression. "My back already feels strained and I'm absolutely exhausted."

"Let's get back to camp. You don't seem like you'd be okay to carry on without your Semblance." Reiner stated, walking over to Krista as Annie jogged over to her and helped the smaller blonde to her feet. Pyrrha took the liberty of taking Krista's, Reiner's, and Annie's scarves. "We can talk about your newfound Semblance while we get some food."

"Sounds good to me." Krista responded, hanging her arm over Annie's shoulders whilst the other girl stabilised Krista's smaller frame by wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her side.

It didn't take long to find their way back to the castle, with Reiner and Krista both breathing heavily. It seemed as if Reiner hadn't quite gotten used to using his Aura yet, but Krista was sure he'd improve, given practice. There were bound to be some who needed more help than others. As far as Krista was concerned, she was one of the lucky ones.

When they got there, they managed to find Commander Pixis standing there with Ymir on one side and Captain Rico standing on the other. Krista's eyes sparkled when she saw Ymir again, and she gave her a bright, wide smile. Then she observed the rest of the people with them: Ruby, Mikasa, Weiss, Armin, Commander Erwin, Captain Mike, Connie, Sasha, Jean, and the four people Levi handpicked for his squad. None of them had a single bruise on them, and in front of them on a wooden table with benches on either side was a basket with white scarves.

"Wow, I was the first to go?" Pyrrha smiled as she dropped her red scarf and the three white scarves into the basket. "I'm surprised Krista didn't get a higher placement within the top ten in the 104th Cadet Corps. She and Annie made quite a strong duo."

"Wait, hold on. You, the Invincible Girl, were beat by two girls, both half your size?" Weiss asked, staring at Pyrrha with raised eyebrows.

"It had a lot to do with Krista's speed and the fact she has a great Semblance, but also Annie's control over her Aura is better than what I expected for someone having to practice using it for the first time." Pyrrha patted Krista's and Annie's shoulders gently.

"You discovered your Semblance already?" Armin questioned as he stared at the girl with raised brows and widened eyes, yet Krista could see the faintest smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Yes. Using it repeatedly in such quick succession wore me out, but I still managed to do it." Krista tried to lift herself up a bit, and straightened her back, causing a slight twitch in her muscles. "My Semblance is the ability to fly. I was able to manifest a pair of wings on my back and move in three dimensions. Unfortunately, my back may need some rest now as it hurts a bit, but I'll show you what I can do later!"

"You don't have to push yourself to prove yourself. After all, Pyrrha, Reiner, and Annie can vouch for you." Ruby said as she waved her hands reassuringly. "Anyway, I guess all we're waiting for is—" Ruby craned her neck to look over Annie's shoulder, prompting everyone else to turn to look in the same direction. "—Eren and Levi."

Coming out of the brush were Yang and Blake. Blake carried Captain Levi over her shoulder, whilst Eren was being carried in both of Yang's arms, with on arm under his back and her other arm under his legs. Eren had a frown and his eyebrows were slanted. Perhaps the reason he looked sad was because he lost?

"He might be Humanity's Strongest, but he's sure not as adept in hand-to-hand combat. Then again, he could match me with speed, and his reflexes without the gear were better than I expected." Blake informed them as she approached the group, with Captain Levi kicking his feet out and glaring at her and the others over his shoulder. "He's already managed better than average control of his Aura, too. He used it to generate speed in coordination with the speed he's shown in the past."

"Annie also demonstrated above average Aura control." Pyrrha chimed in, nodding her head at Blake.

"So has this champ." Yang planted Eren down on one of the benches, and his saddened expression warped into shock when Yang patted his head. "He was able to use his Aura in a similar way I do, easily manipulating it to create a larger impact, especially on the environment. Almost gave me a run for my money."

"Huh. This month might go smoother than I expected, then." Weiss folded her arms, a slight smile forming.

"Now that you four are here, Krista managed to discover her Semblance already." Pyrrha announced with a wide closed-eyes smile.

At the news, Captain Levi hopped off Blake's shoulder, and spun around immediately to face Krista herself. "What is your Semblance?"

"It's the ability to fly, sir." Krista gave the man a nervous smile as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple.

"Krista was able to sprout two wings from her back and take flight into the treetops. Now, Aura can do many things, but forming wings is, sadly, not one of them." Pyrrha clarified, cocking her head to the side a bit. "It's quite impressive, really, since she was able to use it repeatedly until she wore herself out, but if given enough practice, she might not even have to use the gas for the gear."

"And how would we practice her Semblance?" Commander Pixis asked, taking a sip of alcohol from his flask.

"Oh! I've got an idea!" Ruby clicked her fingers, an excited look on her face as she looked at Krista. "We need to improve the durability of her Semblance, which means Krista needs to use it for longer periods of time instead of in short bursts. That being said, there's a good chance of encountering Titans, so she'll also need to learn how to use it while aiming for a moving target, which means the wooden cut-outs of Titans won't be good enough." Ruby's gaze trailed to Eren.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna have to transform to help Krista train her Semblance?" Eren asked, his face contorting into an expression of exhaustion, his eyes half-lidded.

"You're the only real Titan we've got." Ruby cheerfully stated, clasping her hands together in front of her skirt with a bright smile on her face. "Besides, it'd also give me a chance to see how well Mikasa can use one of my prototypes for the improved Omni-Directional Mobility Gear when faced with a Titan, too."

"When do we start?"

* * *

 **Mikasa Ackerman**

* * *

"Before we start, I'd just like to warn everyone that this is still a prototype. I only had at least a couple of hours to make these changes to the gear, maybe a day if I lost track of time." Ruby warned, grabbing a belt that didn't seem as if it was fully made of leather, if at all. In fact, it looked more like Ruby's belt, but black and a bit thicker in width and rattled faintly as Ruby approached Mikasa with it, almost as if there was something inside it.

The two girls were stood in front of the castle, facing the tall trees. Behind them, sat on either the ground, the benches, or leaning against the wall, were the others. There was Commander Pixis, Captain Rico, Commander Erwin, Captain Levi, Petra, Oluo, Eld, Gunther, Eren, Armin, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Krista, Ymir, Reiner, Jean, Connie, Sasha, and Annie. Major Hange, as well as Captain Mike had since arrived, too. They had quite the crowd, and Mikasa wondered if Ruby was nervous.

"Where are the wires?" Mikasa tilted her head, watching as Ruby crouched and took off Mikasa's brown belt. She replaced the brown belt with the black belt, which had since stopped rattling.

"When I first looked at the gear, I thought it might have been a bit sophisticated to adjust and looked pretty constricting and the blade boxes were too big and noisy." Ruby divulged as she stood back up and smiled, raising her index finger in the direction of the sky. "So, my first thought was to make the gear more... compact, I guess," Ruby shrugged her shoulders, "but _not_ smaller, if that makes sense. So, I used my head and built six wires into this belt. But since I didn't have a design for a belt that was wide enough in height, I used my own belt as a basis and made it adjustable to fit around anyone."

"Okay. But if the wires are _in_ this belt, then how am I supposed to use them?" Mikasa asked, but it occurred to her immediately when she straightened her neck and head back up. "I assume I'm going to have to use my Aura?"

"You assume correctly!" Ruby gave the girl a nod and patted her on the shoulder. "See, you're already starting to get it. Alright," Ruby lifted her 'Crescent Rose' weapon off the back of her belt and planted it in both of Mikasa's hands, "to get you used to using your Aura to activate machinery and weaponry, try opening up Crescent Rose into its scythe form with your Aura. Connect your Aura to Crescent Rose – don't worry, when you've done it, I can still connect my own Aura back to it – and, if it helps, just try to think of it transforming into its scythe form."

"Oh—Okay." Mikasa nodded uneasily and looking down at Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, still in its compact form. She remembered how her Aura felt when it was unlocked for her: a surge of vitality and power and energy, coursing through her body like a tidal wave and giving her what had been a previously unimaginable strength. She had projected this new energy onto Armin when she first unlocked his Aura. After doing it once, she was sure she could do it again, and so her grip on the metal of Crescent Rose tightened and she stared at the compacted weapon. Immediately, she felt a connection establish between herself and what she was holding in her hand. Once her Aura was connected to Crescent Rose, she did as Ruby had advised and thought of it opening into the majestic form of a scythe.

All of a sudden, the metal moved and opened up, unsheathing the scythe blade and the staff of the weapon stretching as long as Mikasa, revealing a lever and a trigger and what she was told was a rifle scope, and a large magazine cartridge. When it opened up in merely several seconds, Mikasa fumbled around with her grip of it, her hand almost slipping on the shaft, but she managed to retain her grip and hold up the scythe, with the edge of the scythe blade a hair away from her foot.

Ruby gave a wide smile and hopped in place. "Good! Now, see if you can fold it back up again. Once you've done that, repeat the process at least twice, so you're used to the feeling of it opening and closing, and the transformation speed will get faster the more you practice and get used to it. Eventually, you won't even have to think about it doing what you want, and it should just respond to you."

Mikasa nodded with a slight, barely-there smile as her eyes trailed down to the scythe. In her mind and heart, she wanted it to close, and to her surprise, it did so and returned back into its compacted form. She tried doing the same again in getting it to open into the scythe, this time no longer thinking about what she wanted it to do. She figured her will would be good enough to open it.

It opened again, stretching and transforming into the scythe, and this time Mikasa was ready to keep her hold on the staff. It had only taken a few seconds, and Ruby nodded at Mikasa's progress.

Mikasa hadn't even had a chance to think when the scythe suddenly closed in her hands, retracting again into its compact form, and it took her a second to realise that it had responded to only her will. In the next second, Crescent Rose opened yet again in the space of a second or two.

Ruby was ecstatic!

"Looks like you've already got the hang of it!" Ruby beamed and clasped her hands together, her fingers intertwining. Mikasa merely nodded with a soft hum of agreement and closed Crescent Rose back into its compact form for a third time, and passed it back to Ruby, who took her weapon back and returned it to her belt. "Alright, now you've got the hang of how to activate Crescent Rose, try doing the same with those wires inside that belt. When you activate the wires, one or two sides of the belt will open and fire into whatever direction you want them to go – even if one of the wires is going a different direction from the other. There are two wires in the rear of the belt to go backward, two wires in the front of the belt to advance forward, and two wires around the sides, one in the left side and one in the right."

"Alright," Mikasa nodded her head, "but wouldn't I need to use the gas?"

"Nope," Ruby said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Well, not now, anyway. I still have to make my improvements to the ODM Gear, which means I'll need the canisters and blade boxes. Besides," Ruby opened her eyes and smiled, "you can still use your Aura to make the wires pull your towards where you've shot the wires, meaning you can pull yourself up to that tree right there." Ruby turned around a raised her arm, pointing her finger at the tree directly in front of them.

"I see. I'll get up to that branch up there." Mikasa lifted her hand and pointed her finger at a branch on the tree, the last branch to be seen before leaves obscured the rest of the tree from there upwards. "And then, I can jump and use the rear and side wires to suspend myself from the branch."

"Well then, go for it!" Ruby rubbed Mikasa's back and then started to pat her. "If you fall, I'll catch you, so no need to worry."

Mikasa gave Ruby another nod of her head and a hum as a sort of 'thank you', and stepped forward a few steps. Apparently she didn't need to connect the wires in the belt to her Aura, as it had already been done, presumably when Ruby had planted the belt on her waist. It didn't require any thought, as expected, for the front two wires to shoot out of the front of the belt, with the belt having circular openings that slid open, with the hooks having a small spike at the top of each and the arms of the hooks were closed, not open as they had been originally. Of her own accord, Mikasa directed the wires at the trunk of the tree, about two metres above the branch she had aimed for, and the spike penetrated straight through the bark. The hooks opened up once they were through to the other side of the trunk, and they lodged themselves into the bark on the other side.

The girl's wires pulled her up, and she somersaulted onto the branch with ease. The hooks released the bark and closed, both rewinding back into the belt at incredible speed and allowing the circular openings at the front to close when they were fully inside. Mikasa then somersaulted off the branch, firing the two rear wires and shooting into the branch, where the hooks pierced the wood and opened up on the top of the branch. Once the hooks hooked onto the bark and stabilised Mikasa, she stopped falling only a quarter of the way down, and stayed suspended in the air.

"Okay, I've managed to get the hang of it." Mikasa loudly declared, somewhat proud of herself for having accomplished the task. She lowered herself until she was three-quarters of the way down, before she unhooked the hooks from the branch and she dropped the rest of the way, landing softly and securely on the ground. She allowed the rear wires to retract back into the belt and let the circular openings for the rear wires close. She approached Ruby afterwards. "You know, I'm glad you changed the hooks. Not that I had any problem with them, but the previous ones didn't seem as steady as the new ones you made."

"I thought closing the hooks and adding something sharp on the top of them would help it pierce whatever you're trying to latch on to better, thus giving a firmer grip and sustainability when hanging from something. Connie also told me that one of his wires bounced off the wall during the mission to retake Trost, so I hope it stops that from happening again, even if its not to Connie." Ruby stated, causing Mikasa to glance at Connie, who seemed rather tense. Ruby shuffled in place a bit. "I also decided to make the hooks with the closest metal I could find to that which makes up the blade of Crescent Rose, so the metal is likely more durable and less likely to dull when used too many times. And if it does go dull, you could always carry an extra knife with you to sharpen the metal when its needed."

"It's like she comes up with everything." Petra remarked with clear astonishment, her lips pursed.

"I mean, she is our team leader," Blake reminded her with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, she's a fanatic about these things, so you should learn to expect this when it comes to Ruby. In any case, Ruby's able to learn quickly from past experiences, and she's applied it to her improvements to the gear. She's come up with a solution to the problem Connie once faced _because_ it happened and she knows it could be a possibility with the other wires. I also told her about Jean's gear malfunction as well, so I believe she's going to be coming up with the closest thing to a solution in the next few days. And I would think that she's going to do something about the possibility of a shortage of gas and blades."

"Expect me to have a fully improved ODM Gear to use in three days!" Ruby called out, raising her hand to the sky and waving wildly with a bright smile.

"Only three days?" Commander Erwin queried with an arch of his brow and a slight tilt of his head.

"Three days with no sleep and only food and toilet breaks!"

"Are we sure she'll last that long?" Captain Levi was now the one to ask, folding his arms over his chest. Mikasa could've _sworn_ she'd seen the ghost of a humoured smile grace his face.

"Believe me, I learned a long time ago that there's no stopping her when she puts her mind, heart, and soul to something." Yang folded her arms across her chest.

"Admittedly, I've always liked her spirit." Blake gave a soft smile while sparing a glance at Captain Levi.

"At least if you're going to overwork yourself this month, you should take a day's break between projects. To catch up on sleep and all." Mikasa advised the girl with a slight smile. "Or maybe two. It would depend on how hard you work during each three days."

"That's a good idea." Ruby nodded eagerly. She glanced down at the belt Mikasa wore. "You know, I wonder if we can make any copies of these for everyone that already has their Aura unlocked. And for my team and Pyrrha, since we're not really equipped enough to maintain stability in the air whilst fighting the Titans without using up most of our supplies and rounds and exhausting ourselves with our Semblances."

"Ruby?" Mikasa asked, and the girl in question immediately looked up, snapping out of her trance. Mikasa tugged lightly on the belt. "So, I assume you would want this back?"

Ruby crossed her arms and poked her cheek with her index finger. "Actually, I don't mind you keeping it, so long as you take good care of it. You'll be able to use it without the need of gas, but keep a knife on you to sharpen it in case you use it too much and the hooks get dulled. I've still got some sketches, but now that I know it works, I can officially call it the first improvement of the gear and be confident in making more." Ruby unfolded her arms and lowered them by her sides. "Essentially, you can keep practicing with them, but just keep them maintained and in top condition. I'll be back with you soon when I manage to get another idea off the paper and built."

"I'm glad I could help."


End file.
